Ex-Alpine Exec Suggests Unconscious Bias at McLaren Favoured Norris

Former Alpine executive Marcin Budkowski has suggested that McLaren may have harbored an unconscious bias towards Lando Norris during the 2025 F1 season, potentially hindering teammate Oscar Piastri's championship bid. This claim challenges McLaren's public stance of treating both drivers equally throughout their tight title battle, which Norris ultimately won after pulling away in the final stages.

Why it matters:

Allegations of bias, even unconscious ones, strike at the heart of sporting fairness in F1. For a team managing two championship-caliber drivers, maintaining true equality is one of the toughest challenges, and any perceived favoritism can fracture team dynamics and cast a shadow over a driver's hard-earned title.

The details:

• The 2025 season was an intense intra-team battle, with Norris and Piastri locked in a close fight for the championship for most of the year.
• McLaren consistently maintained a policy of equal treatment and opportunity for both drivers throughout the campaign.
• Budkowski's theory centers on the concept of 'unconscious bias,' suggesting that subtle, unintentional preferences may have influenced team decisions and resource allocation.
• A key point of public discussion was the controversial team order swap at the Italian Grand Prix, a decision many pundits and fans saw as a pivotal moment that favored Norris's championship charge.

Between the lines:

The suggestion taps into a long-standing narrative in F1 where teams, despite their best intentions, can gravitate towards a 'number one' driver. Norris's longer tenure at McLaren, having been with the team since 2019, may have subconsciously created a default hierarchy, putting Piastri at a disadvantage even without explicit instructions. This dynamic will be a critical storyline to watch as McLaren aims to defend its constructors' and drivers' titles in 2026.