McLaren willing to use team orders to ensure Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri beat Max Verstappen to F1 title, says Zak Brown
McLaren chief Zak Brown has confirmed he is willing to implement team orders at this weekend’s title decider in Abu Dhabi to ensure Max Verstappen is unable to beat Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.
Norris leads Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 12 points at the top of the standings, with his McLaren team-mate Piastri four points further back going into the decider, meaning all three can still win the title.
A scenario could arise in Sunday’s race – most likely if Verstappen were to be leading – where Piastri’s own championship hopes would be all but over, but he could help Norris win the title by letting through the Brit, who will be assured of a maiden drivers’ crown if he finishes on the podium.
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The McLaren duo reveal what could happen if Oscar Piastri is asked to let Lando Norris through so the Brit could win the Drivers’ Championship.
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports ahead of Friday’s practice sessions at the Yas Marina Circuit, Brown was asked whether the team would expect Piastri to yield to Norris in such a scenario.
He replied: “Yes, of course. We’re realistic. We want to win this Drivers’ Championship.
“We’re coming into the weekend knowing that they both have equal opportunity, even though there’s obviously a point spread.
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Craig Slater explains what Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris all need to do in order to clinch the title in Abu Dhabi.
“You don’t know how qualifying is going to go, reliability, but if we get into the race and it’s becoming pretty clear that one has a chance and the other doesn’t, we’re going to do what we can to win the Drivers’ Championship. It would be crazy not to.
“We want to win the Drivers’ Championship. So, we’ll kind of see how the race plays out, but we’re not going to not win the championship because we’re trying to protect a third and a fourth or a sixth and a seventh, or however the situation may play out.”
‘Not unusual for team-mates to make sacrifices for each other’
Norris and Piastri were asked about the possible use of team orders at the season finale as they sat together alongside Verstappen at the drivers’ press conference on Thursday, with the Brit saying he won’t ask for help from his team-mate but would “love” to receive it.
Piastri said that the team had not yet discussed the use of team orders, and that he therefore would not “have an answer until I know what’s expected.”
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The F1 grid gives their opinion on who will claim the Drivers’ Championship!
Brown insisted he has no concerns over any potential backlash the team or Norris could face if the title was to be won with the help of team orders.
The American pointed to two occasions last season when his drivers let each other through – in Sprints races in Sao Paulo and Qatar – following team orders.
Brown said: “It’s a team sport, right? So, we’re trying to win the constructors’ (title) as a team and we’re trying to win the drivers’ as a team.
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Ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sky Sports looks back at the 2025 F1 season story so far and the drama that took title fight down to the wire.
“I know that kind of sounds a bit strange, but if one of them can’t win, they want the other to win. And that’s what the team wants. And they are team players and we’ve already seen that last year, right?
“You saw that in the sprint in Brazil and I think it was Qatar. So, I don’t think it’s unusual in any sport for team-mates to make sacrifices for each other to give the team what they want.”
The 2025 F1 season concludes with the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
