Is it Time for Team Orders at McLaren?
The recent disqualification of McLaren in Las Vegas has reignited the debate over whether it’s time for the team to favor one of its drivers in the fight for the championship. With Max Verstappen lurking in the rearview mirror, the situation becomes critical. Verstappen’s victory in Las Vegas, added to McLaren’s technical penalty, has brought the champion closer to the team. This situation evokes the ghost of 2007, when McLaren could have lost the drivers’ championship to another team. Although Lando Norris is still the favorite, the pressure is palpable. Norris arrives at the Qatar Grand Prix with a 24-point lead over Verstappen and his teammate, Oscar Piastri. With 33 points at stake, Norris could secure the title by finishing third in the remaining three races. However, the presence of Verstappen, a four-time champion, complicates the scenario. The current situation raises a crucial question: Should McLaren prioritize Norris to secure the championship? The answer is not simple, especially considering the team’s philosophy of allowing its drivers to compete freely.Brown prefers a scenario where both drivers fight for the championship, even if that means losing it by a minimal margin. The memory of 2007, when Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton allowed Kimi Räikkönen to win the title, is a constant reminder for Brown. However, the McLaren CEO insists that he will not change his approach. McLaren’s policy of not imposing team orders is based on the belief that each driver should have the opportunity to win the championship. This philosophy contrasts with the experience of Andrea Stella, team principal, who has seen the negative effects of team orders at Ferrari during the Michael Schumacher era. Could McLaren have avoided this situation? The answer is complex. The team did not anticipate Red Bull’s improvement or the technical infringement in Las Vegas. Implementing team orders is not a simple decision and could generate internal problems. If McLaren had favored Piastri, the situation could be different, especially considering Norris’s performance in the last races. The decision not to impose team orders has given McLaren a double chance to win the title. Mark Webber’s management, former driver and Piastri’s manager, provides an example of how team orders can affect the final result. In 2010, Webber felt disadvantaged by Red Bull’s decisions, which did not allow him to overtake Sebastian Vettel in the race before the end of the season. In the end, Vettel won the championship, proving that Red Bull’s strategy was correct.“We are playing offense, not defense,” stated McLaren CEO Zak Brown on the “Beyond the Grid” podcast.
Zak Brown
Will McLaren implement team orders now? It’s hard to know for sure, but it’s unlikely that McLaren will change its stance. Brown and Stella have demonstrated their commitment to this philosophy, and doing so now could be interpreted as a sign of panic. The team must consider various scenarios, such as possible collisions between its drivers or mechanical failures.
The Qatar Grand Prix, with its 33 points at stake, could change the course of the championship. Verstappen could reach the final with the advantage, which would force McLaren to reconsider their strategy. Brown knows that there is no trophy for trying to win the “right” way, but he is also aware of history and precedents.
In the 11 times a team has won the constructors’ championship without the drivers’, McLaren doesn’t want to repeat that story. If Verstappen wins the 2025 drivers’ championship, McLaren could be the only one to blame.
