Even McLaren and Norris should fear this team order in Abu Dhabi
McLaren has maneuvered itself into a position where it could cause the biggest anticlimax in Formula 1 history in Abu Dhabi. In that scenario, Lando Norris wouldn’t win, but would be the victim.
With the pressure cranked all the way up, McLaren does seem to be suffering from championship nerves. In Las Vegas it went horribly wrong when the car was set too low and both McLarens were disqualified. In Qatar, a week later, it went wrong again, this time with a massive strategic blunder.
Because why McLaren, as the only team, decided not to pit for a stop, no one really seemed to know. Andrea Stella said the team thought fewer teams would take advantage of the free pit stop and they’d end up in traffic. They turned out to be the only team that thought so.
That Oscar Piastri wasn’t called in from the lead is still understandable from that standpoint. But why not split the strategies? Why not pit Lando Norris when Max Verstappen dives into the pits as well? All to keep the peace and treat the drivers equally?
Is Norris being favored by McLaren?
That’s of course what it also reeks of when it comes to the choice not to pit Piastri. Could it have played a role that, with a double stack, Norris would have lost positions and the team therefore couldn’t pit both drivers? And because they couldn’t bring both in, they decided to leave both out. All with the aim of giving the drivers equal chances, instead of spreading the risk with the biggest chance of a win.
All of that must have gone through Piastri’s mind as well. The Australian was the driver who did nothing wrong at the Losail International Circuit, but saw a win slip through his fingers due to a bad team decision. The man who rarely shows emotion was visibly fed up.
In part that’s justified, because a lot has gone against him in recent months. After leaving Zandvoort with a big lead, he had to give up the race lead to teammate Norris in Monza, then in Singapore he took a hit from that same Norris on the opening lap. A hit that, unlike the moment in Monza, did not lead to a team order in Piastri’s favor.
Of course McLaren won’t consciously work against its driver, but to say that the Piastri camp will feel the team would rather see Norris become champion is an understatement.
Meanwhile, Norris was nowhere to be seen in Qatar. On a weekend where he had match point for a world title for the first time in his career, the Brit was totally unable to make a stand. The sprint race still yielded a podium, but Sunday was a meager P4.
Of course, Sunday was largely on the team, but Norris didn’t resemble the man who had been operating nearly flawlessly in recent weekends. Suddenly the Norris who gets far from the maximum out of his car reappeared, and he was lucky that Kimi Antonelli made a mistake. Otherwise he would have had to finish P2 in Abu Dhabi instead of P3, to clinch the title.
With Norris ahead and Piastri seemingly at an insurmountable deficit, McLaren has put itself in a good but at the same time extremely tricky situation, depending on how the race weekend in Abu Dhabi unfolds.
The scenario in which Norris “simply” finishes P3 is of course the obvious one. The McLaren is still the best car in the field and should, under normal circumstances, perform well at the Yas Marina Circuit. There are also three practice sessions again to set up the car, making P3 a realistic target for the Brit.
Still, the pressure will only grow for Norris. If he faded into the background in Qatar, what happens in Abu Dhabi when it’s all or nothing? Is a P3 really that easy, or could drivers like George Russell and Charles Leclerc suddenly spoil the party?
The difficult position for McLaren is Piastri’s. If Piastri wins and Norris finishes P6 or lower, the Australian is world champion after all. But if Norris is running P4 or P5, McLaren could find itself in a very awkward situation.
This would especially be the case if Verstappen is leading, and Piastri is ahead of Norris. In that situation Piastri would have no chance at the title, but by giving the place to Norris, a McLaren driver would still become champion. It goes without saying, however, that this would produce the biggest anticlimax in Formula 1 history.
Just imagine Verstappen is leading, Piastri is running P2 and Norris is in P4. In that scenario, Verstappen is champion. Stella indicated after the Qatar GP that in such a case a team order would be appropriate. It would mean that Piastri would have to give up two places to make Norris world champion.
Norris the least appreciated world champion
Not only would it be the biggest anticlimax in sports history, it could also define Norris for the rest of his career. Michael Schumacher was haunted for years over Austria 2002, and that was about a single win. Being gifted a world title by your teammate is a whole different level.
You also have to wonder whether Norris benefits from such an outcome. Sure, it would deliver the world title in factual terms, but at what cost? If you win the title in such a contentious way, it won’t stop at a few boos; it could last much longer.
In short: the pressure is sky-high for Norris. He is the only one of the three title contenders with his fate in his own hands. P3 is enough for the world title. If he can’t manage that, he’ll have to hope for a team order and a willing teammate. One thing’s certain: the finale of the F1 season will be anything but boring.
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