Damon Hill backed Norris in pre-season<\/a>, believing the British driver just had that edge over the Australian when it came to race pace. However, he did note that he expected a very close fight between the two drivers.<\/p>\n In the heat of the title fight, the McLaren pair look to have kept things civil, but David Coulthard has seen signs from within McLaren<\/a> that suggest the formalities will be nowhere to be seen once the summer break has concluded and they battle it out over the remaining 10 races.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine<\/a><\/p>\n McLaren would only enforce team orders if F1 rivals showed genuine signs of being faster<\/p>\n Speaking to ran.de<\/a>, former F1 driver Christian Danner<\/a> theorised on what it would take for McLaren to scrap their ideology of no team orders and force their leading duo of Norris and Piastri into abiding by them.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the team has a very clear stance,\u201d Danner began. \u201cThe main thing is that a McLaren driver becomes world champion. Who exactly it is in the end doesn\u2019t really matter. <\/p>\n \u201cThe constructors\u2019 championship is virtually secured, and as long as no one from outside applies serious pressure. Currently, Red Bull<\/a> and Verstappen<\/a> are too weak for that; they\u2019ll let the two race freely. <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ll only intervene if the overarching goals are threatened. If, for some reason, Verstappen starts winning again, the approach could change.\u201d<\/p>\n Then asked if McLaren are \u2018mature\u2019 enough to be able to make those decisions, Danner replied, \u201cAbsolutely. McLaren may have a great history, but every team is ultimately made up of different people. They had to relearn how to win. They\u2019ve internalised that by now.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Every McLaren driver since the 2000 Formula 1 season, ranked<\/a><\/p>\n Is it possible for Max Verstappen to put up a title fight against McLaren in 2025?<\/p>\n Verstappen is just under 100 points shy of the leading McLarens in the drivers\u2019 championship. Things would have to go seriously wrong for the Woking-based outfit and extraordinarily right for Red Bull for the Dutchman to stand a chance.<\/p>\n McLaren are the only customer team not to be affected by issues from within Mercedes\u2019 power unit. Some serious defects in the engine could be the only possibility for Verstappen to be in contention<\/a>.<\/p>\n Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 284 2 275 3 187 4 172 <\/p>\n![\"Lando](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2228345898-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Bryn Lennon \u2013 Formula 1\/Formula 1 via Getty Images<\/p>\n