McLaren reverse team order decision in Zak Brown latest update

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has conceded the team will issue orders for one of their drivers to move aside if it stops Max Verstappen winning the title.

All season long, McLaren has been hesitant to show any kind of favouritism to their drivers and while that has enabled both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to have a chance going into the final race of the season, it has also opened the door to a remarkable Verstappen title run.

McLaren issue team order update ahead of Abu Dhabi GP

When Verstappen was over 100 points adrift, McLaren not giving preferential treatment to either driver was far easier but now with the Red Bull driver breathing down their necks, the team has increasingly been asked by fans to choose one driver and eliminate the Verstappen threat.

McLaren has been steadfast in their refusal though, resulting in Piastri slipping to third and Verstappen just 12 points off Norris ahead of Abu Dhabi.

Speaking to Sky Sports in the build-up to the final race, CEO Brown conceded the team would deploy orders if it means stopping Verstappen from winning the title.

“Yes, of course. We’re realistic. We want to win this Drivers’ Championship,” Brown said.

More on the title decider from PlanetF1.com

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“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.

“We want to win the Drivers’ Championship. 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.”

Speaking on Thursday in a press conference that featured all the title contenders, Norris insisted he had not asked the team to tell Piastri to move aside.

“No, not been discussed,” Norris told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets of team orders.

“Just honestly, I would love it, but I don’t think I would ask it, because I don’t know… I don’t know.

“It is up to Oscar if he would allow it. I don’t think it’s necessarily down to me.

“It’s the same if it’s the other way around. Would I be willing to or not?

“Personally, I think I would, just because I feel like I’m always like that and that’s just how I am.

“But it’s not really up to me, and I’m not going to ask it, I don’t want to ask it, because I don’t think it’s necessarily a fair question.

“At the same time, if that’s how it ends and Max wins, then, well, that’s it. Congrats to him and look forward to next year.

“Doesn’t change anything. Doesn’t change my life. So he will deserve it over us.”

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