Oscar Piastri wants to take advantage of the championship situation in 2025 to avoid team orders

McLaren Director Oscar Piastri could benefit from the situation in the 2024 Drivers’ Championship, where Max Verstappen extended his lead by a significant margin over Lando Norris in Brazil, despite Piastri giving up positions in the past to help his teammate in the fight for the championship. With Norris’ prospects of losing the championship to the Dutchman in the next three races, Piastri could have a valid argument for not complying with team orders and becoming the No. 2 driver next year.

The topic of team orders has been a hot topic for McLaren, which has come under fire for losing a potential lead over Red Bull in the constructors’ championship after Piastri and Norris battled for top spot at Monza, allowing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to capitalize. about the situation and win the race. Although McLaren took the championship lead at the subsequent race in Baku, the non-performance was criticized for allowing the drivers to battle at a crucial stage of the F1 season.

Since then, McLaren has focused on building its lead over Red Bull and Ferrari, and has agreed to go against its ethos and back the driver who had a better chance of battling Verstappen for the Drivers’ Championship, namely Norris . As a result, the team began issuing team orders when necessary, which Piastri adhered to, including during the sprint race of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where he gave up his sprint win for his teammate.

With the three-time world champion on the verge of securing his fourth title in the next race, although Norris still has a slim chance, former F1 strategist Bernie Collins, who presents for Sky Sports F1, believes Piastri would be in a better position are to refuse the number 2 driver role in 2025. She said on the Sky F1 podcast:

“The interesting question is: the next three races.

“If we say the Drivers’ Championship is over – it’s not mathematically, but I understand it’s definitely there – Piastri now has the opportunity to say: ‘I don’t want to be the number two driver in the first race next year’ .

“So this won’t happen again. Give up your position in the sprint race, give up your position in the main race.

“So I’m really excited to see how that develops over the next three.”

Piastri’s race engineer, Tom Stallard, explained that the Australian driver was “looking at the long game” in following McLaren’s orders this season in the interests of the team’s preferences. With three races to go, Stallard was asked how Piastri would comply with team orders in a championship battle. He explained on the Beyond the Grid podcast:

“I think there are two aspects to that.

“The first is that this team is very close and this team wants the best for the team.

“The other thing I would say is that if you are a driver who thinks you are going to win the Drivers’ Championship, you want to be in a team that will support you in that.

“So if you’re not willing to help the team achieve that when it’s the other person, how do you expect the team to treat you the next time it’s you?

“So not that there has to be a tit for tat, but simply that there have been enough examples of Formula 1 teams where the two drivers simply tear the strips apart from each other throughout the season, and then at the end of the season they win. Kimi Raikkonen (in 2007).

“I think Oscar, from that point of view, has been very, very positive in his support of the team and his willingness to support the team in what needs to be done.

“He looks at the long term and really wants his team to win.”