Oscar Piastri has refused to comply with proposed McLaren team order to support his teammate Lando Norris secure the Formula 1 World Championship at this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.
It has been revealed the team held a “very brief discussion” about potentially prioritizing Norris’s title bid, but the Australian driver made it clear that he will not play a supporting role, firmly stating that the answer to team orders is a categorical “no.”
Both McLaren drivers remain in title contention with two race weekends remaining in the season and 58 points still available.
Norris eyes sealing his maiden world title with a maximum haul of 33 points available across the sprint and grand prix, while Piastri is tied on 366 points with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, meaning Qatar is his last realistic shot to overhaul the standings before the Abu Dhabi finale.
While McLaren sealed the constructors’ championship just after Formula 1’s return from the summer break, both drivers have been battling somewhat of a performance slump ever since, falling under the grips of a recharged Verstappen who has consistently delivered results.
The reigning world champion has hauled 179 points in just eight race weekends after finishing every grand prix on the podium with four of those being race wins.
Norris has scored 115 points with two wins and a further three podiums, while Piastri has just collected 82 points and one podium through victory at the Dutch Grand Prix before a run of seven races without a top-three result.
This has lowered McLaren’s chances of a 1-2 in the Drivers’ Championship than at any other point in the season with the World title also in jeopardy.
While the team has consistently affirmed throughout the season that it would rather forfeit the championship than issue ‘papaya rules’ that unfairly advantage one driver over the other, the squad seems to have taken back their words heading to this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri revealed there was a brief discussion within McLaren where he was asked to support Lando Norris F1 title bid.
“We’ve had a very brief discussion [on McLaren team orders], and the answer is no,” he told media in Qatar. “I’m still equal on points with Max and have a decent shot at still winning it if things go my way.”
Even with his recent slump in form – six races without a podium since finishing third in Monza – the Australian remains focused on maximising his own opportunities and capitalising on any chaos ahead.
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He added: “I think there’s still a chance and it’s played out that way a couple of times before, so I know it’s not impossible. Even [if] I have a perfect final two weekends, I can’t just rely on that, I need other things to go my way.
“So for me, I’m just going to try to have the best weekends I can, which I try to do every weekend, and see what happens.”
Piastri’s remarks come after a disappointing weekend in Las Vegas where McLaren suffered double disqualification for excessive plank wear.
The 24-year old would be trailing Norris by what would have been 30 points had the results stood, but the disqualifications serendipitously narrowed the gap to 24, leveling him with Verstappen who capitalized on their misfortune to win the race.
This means Qatar is his last realistic shot in his title battle, as he aims to put an end to his win-less streak.
“I’m not sure to be honest, I’ve not really thought about it,” he said. “I think every weekend there’s a challenger that’s there.
“Obviously Max in the second half of the season has been there more often than not, but we’ve seen Mercedes be quick at certain points, we’ve seen Ferrari get in the mix as well, maybe not quite as much as Max and Mercedes, but there’s always been people around.
“So, I think regardless of what the championship picture looks like for others, everyone is going out there to try and fight for wins and podiums. So, you know, I’m not expecting anyone to make life easy.”
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