McLaren team orders in Abu Dhabi? Here’s the plan

With the F1 Drivers’ championship on a knife edge and McLaren holding both cards and conundrums ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale, team principal Andrea Stella has revealed that frank discussions on team orders will take place with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri before next Sunday’s showdown at Yas Marina.

Norris arrives with a 12-point cushion over Max Verstappen, but Piastri remains mathematically alive – sixteen points back and quietly lurking. The arithmetic is simple: a podium guarantees Norris the title, but permutations exist where McLaren’s rising star may be asked to play kingmaker.

But Stella insists nothing will happen without transparency.

“I think whatever call we make in terms of using the collaboration of our drivers will have to follow some of our fundamental principles, which are foundational to our approach,” the Italian said, quoted by Sky F1.

“We want to be fair to our drivers, we want to race with integrity, and we want to race in a way that doesn't surprise our drivers.

“So, before Abu Dhabi, there will be further conversation with Lando and Oscar. We will confirm our racing approach, but certainly what I can say is that if any of the drivers is in condition to pursue the quest to win the title, then we will respect this."

A United Front – Until the Math Say Otherwise

McLaren has so far refused to anoint a chosen one. Zak Brown has even said he would rather lose to Verstappen than skew the competition internally. Stella doubled down on that ethos.

“There will be no call which excludes the other driver when the other driver is in condition to win,” he said.

“So, we will see what scenario will unfold, but definitely what I can say is that there will be conversations, and there will be a way of going racing which is united between the team and the drivers, like we have always done.”

Still, unity has its limits, especially when the Dutchman threatens a fifth consecutive crown. Norris can clinch the championship outright with a top-three finish, but if he stumbles, Piastri – despite being the longest shot – is still theoretically capable of snatching glory.

And Stella knows that stranger things have happened in Formula 1.

A Veteran of Title Chaos

Having lived through some of F1’s most dramatic finales, Stella has the scars – and the wisdom – to treat the standings with suspicion. At Ferrari, he watched Kimi Räikkönen snatch the 2007 crown from behind and later engineered Fernando Alonso through the heartbreak of 2010 and 2012.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Piastri’s outside chance is not being dismissed.

“We have seen before in the history of Formula 1 that when you have this kind of situation sometimes it's the third one that actually wins,” said Stella.

“We have seen it I think in 2007, in 2010 and Oscar is fast, I think he deserves to be able to just realise his performance.

“We will let the drivers be in condition to race each other but above all what's important for us is that we are in condition to beat Verstappen with one of our two drivers.”

The reality is stark: if Verstappen wins and Norris fails to finish on the podium, the Red Bull driver walks away with another title regardless of Piastri’s heroics.

Stella’s priority, then, is eliminating the unforced errors that have recently crept into McLaren’s execution—including the costly misstep that snatched victory from Piastri in Qatar.

The Plan: No Surprises, No Panic, No Favourites

“The first element to focus on from a team point of view is make sure that we are in condition, prepared, determined to execute perfect race weekends,” Stella explained.

“Because the pace has been in the car, the drivers are doing an exceptionally good job but over the last couple of races from a team point of view we have not been in condition to capitalise on the good work of the drivers and the potential we have in the car.

“When it comes to the fact that we have two drivers in the quest for the World Championship, our philosophy and our approach will not change.

“We will leave both Oscar and Lando the possibility to compete and pursue their aspiration. Oscar from a points point of view is definitely in condition to win the title."

McLaren has spent the season insisting fairness comes first. Abu Dhabi will test whether fairness and championships can truly coexist.

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