Brown admits ‘it would be crazy not to’ deploy McLaren team orders to ensure Norris or Piastri win title in Abu Dhabi

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has confirmed that the team are prepared to use team orders if needed to ensure one of their drivers wins the championship in Abu Dhabi, concluding that “it would be crazy not to”.

The three-way title fight between Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri will be decided at the season finale, with everything coming down to the 58-lap Grand Prix after the Briton failed to secure victory last time out in Qatar, which would have secured him the title.

Norris could only manage fourth place in Lusail after his team’s alternative strategy didn’t work out, while his Red Bull rival won the race. The lead McLaren is nevertheless still top of the standings with 408 points, a slim advantage of 12 points over Verstappen, with Piastri finding himself only 16 points behind.

All Norris needs to do to win his maiden title is finish on the podium at the Yas Marina Circuit, but there are so many situations that could unfold – one involves Piastri running in the top three, with his team mate in fourth just like in the Qatar Grand Prix.

In that scenario, the Australian would be mathematically ruled out of the championship, but if he let Norris through then McLaren would still win the drivers’ title, even if Verstappen took victory in the race.

Asked whether they would use team orders in an interview with Sky Sports F1, Brown answered: "Yes, of course. We're realistic. We want to win this Drivers' Championship. We're coming into the weekend knowing that they both have equal opportunity, even though there's obviously a point spread.

"You don't know how Qualifying is going to go, reliability, but if we get into the race and it's becoming pretty clear that one has a chance and the other doesn't, we're going to do what we can to win the Drivers' Championship. It would be crazy not to.”

His comments come after Norris said in Thursday's press conference that he "would love it" if McLaren used team orders, but added that he wouldn't necessarily ask for them as it would be "up to Oscar if he would allow it".

The Woking outfit have been the dominant team throughout much of the season, with Piastri holding an advantage of 104 points over Verstappen at one stage. However, the reigning World Champion mounted a remarkable comeback that coincided with a drop in form for the Australian, bringing him back into the battle.

Norris’ victories in Mexico and Brazil helped him snatch first place in the standings, but he will lose out on his first world title if Verstappen wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he crosses the line in P4 or lower.

McLaren have repeatedly emphasised their focus on fairness this season, with their 'papaya rules’ coming into play on various occasions, but Brown insisted that this helped them win the Teams’ Championship in Round 18 in Singapore, and will benefit them in Abu Dhabi too.

"We want to win the Drivers' Championship,” he said. “So, we'll kind of see how the race plays out, but we're not going to not win the championship because we're trying to protect a third and a fourth or a sixth and a seventh, or however the situation may play out.

"It's a team sport, right? So, we're trying to win the Constructors' as a team and we're trying to win the Drivers' as a team.

"I know that kind of sounds a bit strange, but if one of them can't win, they want the other to win. And that's what the team wants. And they are team players and we've already seen that last year, right?

"You saw that in the Sprint in Brazil and I think it was Qatar. So, I don't think it's unusual in any sport for team mates to make sacrifices for each other to give the team what they want."