Martin Brundle thinks he knows how Oscar Piastri would react to McLaren’s ‘nuclear’ team orders

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Martin Brundle will not be surprised if McLaren ask Oscar Piastri to give up a podium result in the 2025 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to help Lando Norris win the drivers’ title.

Both of the papaya pals will start this Sunday’s Abu Dhabi GP with a mathematical chance of winning the F1 drivers’ championship for the first time. Norris tops the standings through 23 of the 24 rounds with 408 points, ahead of Max Verstappen with 396 and Piastri with 392.

Norris simply needs to finish on the podium at Yas Marina to win the title, while his two title rivals will possibly need the Briton to suffer more than just misfortune. So, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has confirmed that they will inflict team orders on Piastri if it sees Norris lift the title.

Given the championship permutations ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Brown feels McLaren would be “crazy” not to use team orders so Norris wins the 2025 F1 title if Piastri is not in a position where he could take it. There is no situation where Norris can help Piastri.

Martin Brundle expects Oscar Piastri to accept any McLaren team order to help Lando Norris

Brundle would expect Piastri to abide by any team orders from McLaren if they are required for Norris to stop Red Bull’s Verstappen from winning his fifth consecutive title. But an issue could arise if Norris is not directly behind Piastri and the Australian holds a podium position.

READ MORE: All you need to know about the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, including past winners

Norris needs to finish on the podium if Verstappen wins the Abu Dhabi GP, so Brundle would expect McLaren to order Piastri to give up even a P2 finish if it promotes his teammate from P4 to the rostrum. Yet that order would likely put Piastri’s willingness to play ball to the test.

Brundle said on Sky Sports News (5/12, 08:34): “They’re kind of damned if they do, damned if they don’t in some respects. But I’m pretty sure they’d rather handle the nuclear fallout of moving their cars around.

“It’s a team. They spend millions of pounds a year running two racing cars, representing well over 1,000 people back at base. They’ve won the constructors’, and they want to win the drivers’. What they don’t want to do is let Max Verstappen win the drivers’ championship.

“So, of course, if it’s in the closing stages and, for example, Oscar Piastri, for the sake of just dropping down the order because he can’t win the championship, I would certainly be asking the same thing. Let’s assume Oscar would actually do that.

“The interesting one would be, let’s imagine it was Max winning with Oscar second, George Russell third and Lando Norris fourth. Would they ask Oscar to give up a podium and drop back to fourth to let Lando win the title? I’m pretty sure they will.”

Max Verstappen is the closest to the top of the 2025 F1 drivers’ standings he has been since round 5/24

Jolyon Palmer believes Piastri cannot “defy” McLaren’s orders if they ask him to help Norris win the 2025 F1 drivers’ title during Sunday’s season-closing Abu Dhabi GP. The 24-year-old moving out of his teammate’s way is possibly the Woking outfit’s “safety net” this weekend.

READ MORE: F1 experts predict the 2025 Abu Dhabi GP and if Lando Norris will win the title

Who do you think will clinch the 2025 title this weekend?

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Additionally, Palmer thinks Piastri will benefit in 2026 from helping Norris, as McLaren could offer him an improved position in any “50/50” situations next season by doing whatever the team ask to ensure Verstappen does not snatch the 2025 F1 drivers’ title at the final chance.

Verstappen has never led the standings at any point of the 2025 F1 season so far, yet he can deny McLaren, for whom Norris and Piastri have led the way all year. The Red Bull driver also heads into the finale facing his smallest points deficit since April’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Norris dethroned Verstappen from P1 in the standings for the first time in 1,029 days when he won March’s season-opener in Australia. Piastri eclipsed Norris after beating Verstappen to win in Saudi Arabia during round 5/24, and he remained on top until round 20 in Mexico.