No mind reading from Verstappen as McLaren faces team order question

Max Verstappen admits he’s no mind reader, he has no idea how Oscar Piastri could react if, and it’s a big if, team orders are imposed on the Australian to help Lando Norris beat Verstappen to the title in Abu Dhabi.

After all, even Piastri says he doesn’t know.

McLaren may yet impose team orders in Abu Dhabi

Norris, Verstappen, and Piastri will line up on the Yas Marina grid on Sunday in a three-year fight for the World title.

Norris has the advantage with his 12-point lead over Verstappen, with Piastri a further four points off the pace.

It likely means that barring a disaster for Norris, Piastri would be the one to face team orders if it became necessary. However, as long as Norris is running in a top-three position, the title is his no matter where Verstappen and Piastri finish.

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The McLaren teammates were asked about the prospect of team orders, with Norris admitting he would “love it”, but that he’s “not going to ask it, I don’t want to ask it, because I don’t think it’s necessarily a fair question.”

As for Piastri, he concedes he won’t know what he’ll do until the moment arrives, saying: “Until I know what’s expected, I don’t really have an answer until I know what is expected of me.”

It could yet mean that instead of racing two McLaren drivers fighting for the World title, Verstappen will be up against two cars both fighting for just one driver to win it.

Asked whether he thinks Piastri could sacrifice his own race, Verstappen told the Dutch media: “We’ll see.

“It’s impossible to predict that in advance. I can’t look inside [Oscar’s] head after everything that happened this season, so I really don’t know.”

Despite facing the prospect of losing the World title that he first gained in Abu Dhabi in 2021, Verstappen revealed he’s feeling “very relaxed” as there was a time after the Dutch Grand Prix, when he dropped 104 points off the pace, that he thought it was all over.

But a fantastic second part to the season has seen Verstappen string together nine podiums, including five grand prix wins.

“I’m very relaxed,” he said in the FIA press conference. “Nothing to lose, you know? So, I’m just enjoying being here.

“But for me, it’s not even about being here. I’ve been enjoying the second half of the season, working with the team, how we’ve been able to turn it around from difficult times and really having a debrief after the race, being very disappointed and frustrated with the performances to just enjoying, smiling. Having these wins again is fantastic.

“So, I just take it – everything here is just a bonus, sitting here fighting for the title.

“So that’s also what makes it very straightforward for me. We will just try to have a good weekend. But then even then, it’s not really in my control, you know? So we just, yeah, like I said, try to enjoy it.”

He added: “I mean, trophy looks the same. You know, I have four of those at home, so it’s nice to add a fifth. Yeah. I mean, I know my signature, so it’s the same. But yeah, of course you always try to win it.

“But at the same time, I’ve already achieved everything that I wanted to achieve in F1, and everything is just a bonus. And I just keep doing it because I love it and I enjoy it. And that’s also how I go into this weekend – have a good time out there, try to maximise the result.

“And even with that, maximising the result? I don’t even know what that means in terms of where you are in the ranking, you know? Because realistically, I don’t think we are the quickest.

“But you never know. A lot of things can happen like it did also in Qatar. So we’ll just see.”

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