Lando Norris won’t ask McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to gift him F1 title in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI – Lando Norris will not ask McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to gift him the Formula One title, even if that is the only way he can beat Max Verstappen in the Abu Dhabi season-ender on Dec 7.

The Briton leads Red Bull’s four-time champion Verstappen by 12 points, with Australian Piastri a further four behind. To clinch his maiden F1 title, he needs only to finish on the podium at Yas Marina, no matter what his rivals do.

Piastri needs to win or end second and hope for a twist in the tale – only twice this century has the driver who was third overall going into the final race come out on top.

Verstappen, who can join Michael Schumacher as the only drivers to take five titles in a row, could be on for the most astonishing comeback of all after being 104 points behind Piastri in late August.

Abu Dhabi has been a happy hunting ground for him in the past, with four straight wins at the anti-clockwise circuit until sixth spot in 2024, when Norris won it. Another win, with Norris not on the podium, would suffice.

The three title contenders appeared together at a news conference at the Yas Marina circuit on Dec 4, with Verstappen the most relaxed.

Norris was asked to consider a scenario where the Dutch driver was leading the race with Piastri third and him fourth. In that case, the 28-year-old reigning champion would retain his crown – unless the McLaren drivers switched positions.

Would Norris ask Piastri, or McLaren, to do that?

“I don’t think I would ask it because... I don't know... it’s up to Oscar if he would allow it. I don’t think it’s necessarily down to me,” said the 26-year-old.

“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.

“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,” he added.

“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. It doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change my life. He will deserve it over us.”

Piastri, 24, said the matter had not been discussed.

Mercedes’ George Russell, twice a winner this season who could play his part in the title battle by getting between the contenders, suggested the Australian should unplug the radio in his car.

“I think it would be unfair for either driver to give (up) places,” said the 27-year-old Briton. “If Max wins, he deserves to win. I wouldn’t want to win a championship because my teammate has pulled over, especially if he’s been my rival that year.”

Verstappen simply said he has nothing to lose. “To me, everything here is just a bonus and sitting here fighting for the title,” added the Dutchman, who recovered from a poor first half of the season by winning five of the previous eight races. “That’s also what makes it really straightforward for me. We will just try to have a good weekend.”

Williams racer Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, believes Norris holds an edge.

“I think Abu Dhabi is a Lando track,” said the 31-year-old Spaniard, who drove alongside Norris in 2019 and 2020 and was also teammates with Verstappen at Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls).

“It’s good for him that the finale is in Abu Dhabi, which from my experience being his teammate here is one of his best tracks at driving.”

“And the win he took last year in front of me still hurts,” added Sainz, who finished second to the Briton on his Ferrari swansong in 2024.

McLaren principal Andrea Stella told reporters after the Qatar Grand Prix on Nov 30, when a strategy blunder denied Piastri a win and Norris a podium place, that the team’s approach to racing would not change, but there would be conversations this week.

He emphasised, however, that McLaren, already crowned constructors’ champions for a second year in a row, wanted to win both titles in the same season for the first time since 1998. REUTERS