McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has confirmed that the team would consider enforcing team orders in Abu Dhabi if one driver is out of the running for the drivers' championship.
The Woking outfit has allowed both Lando Norris and his team-mate Oscar Piastri to fight it out among themselves so far this season, with the one provision that they do not crash into each other. While the pair have managed to keep it clean, for the most part, the team has faced a lot of scrutiny over its approach.
Heading into the final two rounds of the season, which include a sprint race, Norris leads the standings by 24 points over Piastri. Red Bull's Max Verstappen also remains a threat as he sits equal on points with the Australian driver.
A double disqualification in Las Vegas for excessive plank wear saw a new wave of questions towards McLaren about whether they would back one driver, most likely current championship leader Norris, for the remainder of the season. But Brown confirmed to Sky Sports F1 that they would only consider doing this during the season finale if one driver was mathematically out of the title fight.
“Well, we kind of, we're one race at a time right now, we have two drivers that can leave this race leading the world championship,” the McLaren chief said. “So, how do you do anything other than give both drivers equal opportunity to try and lead the championship?
“If we get into Abu Dhabi and we get into a situation where one can't make it happen, then of course we'll ask one driver to help the other.
“But while we have two guys that can go into Abu Dhabi as championship leaders, it's absolutely crazy to do anything other than let them race in Qatar.”
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Piastri explained ahead of the weekend in Qatar that the option had been discussed, which Brown confirmed.
“We talk about everything,” Brown added. “And I think that's one of the reasons why we have such a great working relationship with our drivers, Andrea [Stella], myself, and the whole team, is we just talk about topics. We don't hide from them.
“We don't pretend they don't, you know, when the elephant comes in the room, we talk about the elephant. And I'm not sure where that phrase came from. I hope that doesn't offend elephants in today's world.
“And so, yeah, we talk about it and we're not shy and we're straight talking. And, you know, it's pretty, it's not pretty clear. It's very clear.
“We've got two guys that can win this championship, so we're not going to do anything differently until the situation's different.”
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.
