McLaren CEO Zak Brown has backed Oscar Piastri to become a Formula One world champion in the future, despite the Australian falling just short in this year’s title fight.

Piastri finished second behind Max Verstappen in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, securing third in the final championship standings. Third place on the night for teammate Lando Norris, however, was enough to clinch his maiden world title by a narrow two-point margin.

“He is a future world champion,” Brown told Sky Sports. “Both of our drivers won seven races, they were outstanding all year and worked together brilliantly. It’s a cruel sport — sometimes things fall your way, sometimes they don’t — but I’m excited to go racing with these two again next season.”

Throughout the run-in, McLaren allowed their drivers to race freely. Despite speculation that team orders might intervene in the season finale, Piastri was never instructed to step aside to protect Norris from Verstappen.

“We let them race all the way to the end,” Brown added. “A lot of people thought that would be impossible to manage, but it’s a dream working with these two.”

After the chequered flag, Brown delivered words of encouragement over team radio as Piastri processed the heartbreak of missing out on the championship.

“What a season. You’re a star — seven wins. We love you. We’ll do it again next year,” he said. “Oscar, very proud of you. Awesome. What a team player. See you on the podium.”

Former champion Nico Rosberg, speaking as a pundit for Sky Sports, suggested Brown might have shown a touch more sensitivity toward the deflated driver in that moment.

“Maybe Zak could have had a bit more empathy rather than celebrating straight away,” Rosberg said. “He could have told Oscar, ‘next year will be your year’. But it’s hard — Zak was ecstatic, and understandably so.”