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LANDO NORRIS VS OSCAR PIASTRI: MCLAREN ALLOWS FREE RACE IN CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT
Zak Brown confirms McLaren won't use team orders in Qatar, allowing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to race for the title. Max Verstappen remains a serious threat.
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McLaren CEO Zak Brown has reiterated that the team won't use team orders in Qatar as long as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are both in contention for the world title. They're currently separated by 22 points.
This stance remains even though Max Verstappen is still a threat, trailing by 25 points. He needs to beat Norris on Sunday to stay in the championship race and could potentially overtake both McLaren drivers for the F1 2025 title.
McLaren's Reason for Avoiding Team Orders
Earlier this season, McLaren held the top two spots in the Drivers' Championship. After the summer break, Oscar Piastri opened a big lead of 104 points over Verstappen. Norris was also ahead, 70 points clear, despite a retirement.
The team was in a strong position, with the only question being which teammate would win the title.
Since the Dutch Grand Prix, McLaren's lead has tightened. Heading into Qatar, Norris leads, with Piastri in second due to having more wins than Verstappen, as they are tied on 366 points.
In Saturday's Sprint race, Piastri won by five seconds over George Russell, with Norris another second behind in third.
This result trimmed the gap between the McLaren teammates to 22 points. Verstappen finished fourth, behind Norris, and is now 25 points behind the lead and three behind Piastri.
This means all three drivers are still in contention for the championship as they head into Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix. A win for Norris would give McLaren its first Drivers' title since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Anything less could open the door for Piastri or Verstappen.
McLaren isn't yet willing to tell Piastri to let Norris pass to shut Verstappen out of the race. Piastri, who starts on pole position at the Lusail International Circuit, is still very much in the fight himself.
Brown told Sky F1, We're taking it one race at a time. We have two drivers who could leave this race leading the World Championship.
So, how can we do anything but give both drivers an equal chance to lead the championship?
If we get to Abu Dhabi and one driver can't win, then of course we'll ask the other to help.
But while both guys can go to Abu Dhabi as possible championship leaders, it would be crazy to do anything other than let them race in Qatar.
While Brown states that McLaren won't use team orders, they have discussed the possibility with Piastri.
Before the Qatar weekend, Piastri told the media, We've had a very short discussion, and the answer is no.
I'm equal on points with Max and have a good chance of still winning if things go my way.
Brown said that these conversations are normal for McLaren and part of an open relationship with its drivers.
"We talk about everything, and I think that's why we have such a great working relationship with our drivers, Andrea, myself, and the whole team," he said.
We just talk about topics. We don't avoid them. We don't pretend they don't exist.
We talked about it, and we're open and honest.
It's clear we have two guys who can win this championship, so we're not going to change anything until the situation changes.
For now, both McLaren drivers and Verstappen are still in the hunt.
He's like the horror movie character who you think is down and then suddenly appears—you thought he was out! Brown said of Verstappen.
He's incredibly talented, as good as anyone we've seen. We have to ignore him, even though it's hard to do, as we can't control what he does.
THE 2026 ULTIMATUM: WHY NEXT SEASON IS "MAKE OR BREAK" FOR LEWIS HAMILTON
After a winless 2025 debut, Lewis Hamilton faces a pivotal year. See why Steiner believes the 7x champ is nearing the F1 exit.
Guenther Steiner, who used to run the Haas team, thinks Lewis Hamilton might quit Formula 1 if Ferrari can't get to the top of the Driver's Championship by 2026—he thinks that season will be super important for the racing star.
Hamilton had a tough first year with Ferrari, ending up sixth in the F1 rankings with 156 points.
That was 86 points behind his teammate, Charles Leclerc, and he didn't even get on the podium once, which is a first for him in a full season.
He often said he was bummed out about how his Ferrari debut was going.
Back in November, after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, he told Sky Sports, I feel awful. This has been the worst season ever, and it just keeps getting worse no matter how hard I try. I'm trying everything I can, both in and out of the car.
Hamilton looked pretty sad a lot during the season because he couldn't really fight for race wins.
Steiner told Sports Krone, I think if Ferrari has a good car next season, Hamilton might be able to turn things around. If they are more competitive, Lewis might find his drive again. But if things stay the same, next season will probably be his last in Formula 1. He's not going to go through that again. The situation is tough for him, and you could see that in every interview. So, the next season will be key for him.
What's Hamilton saying about quitting?
When the media asks Hamilton about his F1 future, he doesn't want to talk about retiring.
At the end of the season, when someone asked him what he would say to those who think he might retire soon, the 40-year-old said, I wouldn't say anything to them. None of them have done what I've done, so they don't know anything more than I do.
Last summer, after some rumors that he might leave early, Hamilton said he's staying at Ferrari until his contract is up.
He said, For those writing stories about me thinking about not racing, I've just started here with Ferrari. I've been here for a few years, and I'm in it for the long run, so there's no question about what I'm focused on achieving with this team. There are zero doubts, so please stop making stuff up.
In 2026, everyone will still be wondering about Hamilton's future in F1, mainly if Ferrari keeps struggling with the new rules. And if Steiner is right, another year of not competing for a championship could be the end for him.
MAX VERSTAPPEN NAMED PEER-VOTED DRIVER OF THE YEAR FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE SEASON
Max Verstappen wins his 5th straight F1 peer award, beating champion Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton drops out of the top 10 for the first time.
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Max Verstappen copped his fifth straight driver-of-the-year award in Formula 1's secret peer vote, even though he almost grabbed a fifth title in 2025 but didn't quite make it.
The drivers all voted in secret, except for four guys. The Red Bull driver beat out Lando Norris, who just won the world championship, for the number one spot.
The voting worked like the normal F1 points system. Drivers ranked their top 10 rivals. Verstappen got 25 points from six votes to win.
Norris, who won his first championship after a crazy season, came in second in the driver rankings for the second year running.
The McLaren driver won the title after fighting off pressure from Verstappen and his teammate, Oscar Piastri, all season long.
George Russell took third, moving up one spot from last year. The Mercedes driver had a killer season with two wins and seven more podiums.
Piastri was fourth, up one spot, even though his championship hopes fizzled out near the end. The Aussie was leading by 34 points at one point before his performance dropped off.
Charles Leclerc finished fifth, down two spots, even though he got everything he could out of Ferrari's SF-25. The Monegasque driver had seven podiums during a tough season that saw Ferrari finish fourth.
Carlos Sainz held onto sixth after a great comeback at Williams. After a rough start, the Spaniard grabbed two podiums in a strong second half of the season.
Fernando Alonso jumped two spots to seventh, and the two-time world champion had some crazy drives in Aston Martin's AMR25.
Alex Albon took eighth after his best season with Williams, while rookies Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar rounded out the top 10, getting props for their awesome first seasons.
Pierre Gasly almost made the list, even with 10 Q3 appearances in Alpine's tricky A525.
Lewis Hamilton, who's won seven world championships, didn't show up in the rankings, which is a first since they started doing this poll. It shows how rough his first season at Ferrari was.
The four drivers who skipped the vote were Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll, and Yuki Tsunoda.
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