Martin Brundle suspects McLaren have inserted ‘legal clause’ into Lando Norris contract

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Lando Norris is trying to cut Max Verstappen’s lead at the top of the drivers’ championship at the Belgian Grand Prix. Verstappen’s engine penalty presents a golden opportunity for the McLaren man.

It was confirmed during Friday’s FP1 session that the title holder would incur a 10-place grid drop at Spa. That’s because he’s now taken a fifth internal engine combustion engine, exceeding the maximum allocation of four.

Verstappen has previous for fighting back through the field at this circuit. He scythed his way to victory from 14th in 2023, and also won from sixth a year earlier.

But given that McLaren and co. have closed up this season, it should be more difficult for the Dutchman to make progress. If he wants to have any chance of making an all-time great comeback, Norris surely must win to maximise the damage.

The 24-year-old will feel that he left seven points on the table in Hungary last weekend. He started on pole position but surrendered the lead to teammate Oscar Piastri at the first corner.

Norris leapfrogged Piastri by virtue of a defensive undercut later in the race, but the team ordered him to surrender the place. After expressing much reluctance, he dutifully slowed down to ensure a first Grand Prix win for Piastri.

Martin Brundle thinks Lando Norris must ‘legally’ obey McLaren team orders

McLaren’s instructions remained the biggest talking point as the paddock reconvened at Spa. Speaking live on Sky Sports F1 ahead of the opening practice session, Martin Brundle explained why Norris was ‘obliged’ to comply.

He believes that every driver’s contract includes a clause compelling them to follow team orders. It’s unclear, however, what kind of punitive mechanisms are attached.

Indeed, there are numerous examples of drivers ignoring commands from the pit wall without suffering any obvious consequences. Sebastian Vettel famously flouted the ‘Multi 21’ order from Red Bull at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, battling his way past teammate Mark Webber.

And Verstappen himself refused to let Sergio Perez past at the 2022 Brazilian GP even though he’d already sealed the championship. They weren’t competing for the win either, eventually coming home sixth and seventh.

“Legally you’re obliged,” Brundle said. “Every contract I’ve ever been involved in in Formula 1 has a legal clause, one of the early ones, that says you will always obey team orders.”

Damon Hill not impressed by ‘weird’ Lando Norris comments

Emotions seemed to run high for Norris after the events of Budapest. It was the latest of a string of missed opportunities for the one-time race-winner.

One journalist claims Norris was crying in the McLaren garage afterwards. Mechanics rallied round to cover him from the cameras.

There were signs of his frustration in the cooldown room. He took exception to Lewis Hamilton’s exclamation about the speed of his car, pointing out that Mercedes were untouchable ‘seven years ago’.

Sky pundit Damon Hill called out Norris for his ‘weird’ and ‘dismissive’ remarks. Norris is looking to become the third British world champion since Hill’s 1996 triumph, following on from Hamilton and Jenson Button.