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McLaren have a conundrum: When, and how, will they decide which of the drivers of their 600-horsepower beasts will take top billing at season’s end?

Just nine points separate Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship. Their next-closest competitor, Max Verstappen, is 88 points behind Norris.

The last time Australia had an F1 world champion was when Williams driver Alan Jones won the championship in 1980, and Piastri has every chance of breaking that drought after the season resumes in the Netherlands on August 29.

With 14 races left this year, the obstacle in Piastri’s way is his McLaren teammate Norris, who is also seeking a maiden championship.

Not since 2021 – when Red Bull’s Verstappen claimed his first drivers’ championship with a final lap overtake on Lewis Hamilton at the last race of the season – have we seen the title fight quite like this.

McLaren are 299 points ahead of their closest competitor, Red Bull, so the constructors’ championship is all but wrapped up (unless team Papaya implodes between now and December). Still, for the first time in three years, the drivers’ championship could come down to the final race of the year – Abu Dhabi.

Race winner Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the F1 Grand Prix in Hungary.Credit: Getty Images

McLaren’s conundrum is one every team would like to have: the best car with two drivers who consistently stand on the podium.

It’s a complication, nonetheless, because team principal Zak Brown has a choice in front of him: does the team back Norris, the driver who’s been with McLaren for six years? Or Piastri, who joined in 2024 but has outperformed his teammate so far.

Brown and McLaren have been reluctant to choose a favourite child. Instead, they’ve implemented what they call ‘Papaya rules’, a team strategy that allows the two drivers to race each other, and which is reviewed and discussed after qualifying on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s race.

It sounds simple, but it’s difficult to respect the rules when you’re in the heat of battle.

The last time the title fight was this close between teammates was when Mercedes’ duo Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton battled for the 2016 championship. Once childhood friends during kart racing, the pair fell out into fierce rivalry, leading to frequent clashes and crashes on track. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff threatened suspension for any driver who caused a future........

© Brisbane Times