McLaren’s determination that team orders are off the table heading into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix does not mean there are not scenarios where it could ask one of its drivers to help the other win the title.
With both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris still in contention for the title, McLaren made clear after last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix that it would leave both drivers free to race for themselves going into the F1 season finale.
Even though there remains a major threat from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to steal the crown, the team does not want to abandon the efforts it has made this year to give both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri an equal chance of glory.
Team boss Andrea Stella said after the Qatar GP: “If [either] of the drivers is in condition to pursue the quest to win the title, then we will respect this, and there will be no call which excludes the other driver when the other driver is in condition to win. So we will see what scenario will unfold.”
The decision to keep things equal between both drivers has triggered plenty of intrigue about whether or not this could result in a scenario where a Piastri podium, for example, could cost Norris the title if Verstappen won the race.
However, The Race has learned that McLaren is open enough that if there comes a point in the race where it is clear that Piastri no longer has a realistic chance of winning the crown, then he could be asked to help Norris get it across the line.
If they were running third and fourth, for example, then at the end of the race, he could be asked to move aside to give Norris the third place that would secure him the crown.
Equally, there could be a scenario where, if Piastri is running second behind Verstappen, with Norris down in fourth, then he could even be asked to sacrifice that place if it meant McLaren winning the drivers’ crown.
McLaren is clear that it wants to lay everything on the table with both its drivers ahead of the Abu Dhabi race, so they are both clear of their duties and expectations – and the scenarios in which they could be expected to help each other.
As Stella said after Qatar: “We want to be fair to our drivers, we want to race with integrity, and we want to race in a way that doesn't surprise our drivers. So between now and Abu Dhabi, there will be further conversation with Lando and Oscar. We will confirm our racing approach.”
