McLaren boss Zak Brown has confirmed he will enforce team orders in this weekend’s Abu Dhabi race to ensure his team wins the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.
Everything comes down to the final race, with McLaren’s Lando Norris leading by 12 points from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who has finished with a flurry.
Aussie Oscar Piastri sits third and also remains in the title hunt for McLaren, which could lead to an awkward situation.
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Zak Brown his McLaren drivers. Â Getty
Naturally, everyone is wondering whether McLaren will attempt to force Piastri to give up on his own hopes of becoming champion to ensure Norris beats Verstappen.
If the Red Bull driver is winning the race, all Norris must do is finish on the podium. If his McLaren teammate is between him and the podium, that’s where things could get awkward.
And Brown has put his foot down to ensure that does not eventuate.
“Yes, of course (we will use team orders). We’re realistic. We want to win this Drivers’ Championship,” Brown told Sky Sports.
“We’re coming into the weekend knowing that they both have equal opportunity, even though there’s obviously a point spread.
“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.”
Race winner Max Verstappen in Las Vegas. Getty
Brown insisted that McLaren would be one big team working for the best possible outcome, no matter what scenario arises.
“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,” he said.
“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 teammates to make sacrifices for each other to give the team what they want.”
Norris has already said he will not ask Piastri to help him win the title, but would be open to any assistance provided.
Piastri has blown a considerable lead in the championship to now sit third. He requires the most luck to go his way in Abu Dhabi.
All eyes will be on qualifying on Sunday morning to see who has the upper hand.