Martin Brundle warns of ‘nuclear fallout’ in McLaren team order debate

Martin Brundle has warned McLaren it faces “nuclear fallout” if it loses the World title to Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi because the team didn’t make the decision to swap the cars around.

McLaren heads into the Abu Dhabi title decider with Lando Norris leading the championship by 12 points ahead of Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri a further four points off the pace.

McLaren warned of ‘nuclear fallout’ if it doesn’t use team orders in Abu Dhabi

Just three months ago, it looked as if McLaren was assured of the 1-2 when Piastri sat 34 points clear of Norris with the teammates first and second, while Verstappen in third was 104 points off the pace.

But in a remarkable turnaround, both Norris and Verstappen closed in and overhauled Piastri to sit 1-2 with the 24-year-old now facing a come-from-behind situation to secure the World title.

He may not even have the opportunity to try, it all depends on whether Verstappen is in the running as McLaren CEO Zak Brown has said the Woking team will use team orders if it stands to lose the title.

More on the F1 2025 title race

? How Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri can seal the F1 2025 title

? F1 schedule: When is the next F1 race and where is it being held?

“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,” he told Sky Sports.

No, says Brundle, it wouldn’t be crazy, as it would cause “nuclear fallout” if McLaren lost out.

At the end of a season in which McLaren had the best car on the grid for much of the campaign, wrapped up the Constructors’ with six races to spare in Singapore, and was 1-2 on the individual log until almost the very end, losing the Drivers’ title would be a massive blow.

“They are damned if they do, damned if they don’t in some respects. I’m pretty sure they’d rather handle the nuclear fallout of moving their cars around. It’s a team,” Brundle told Sky Sports F1 in Abu Dhabi.

“They spend £400 million a year running two racing cars representing 1,000 people back at base, and they won the Constructors’, and they want to win the Drivers’.

“What they don’t want to do is let Max Verstappen win the championship.

“So of course, if it’s in the closing stages and, for example, Oscar Piastri, for the sake of dropping down the order because he can’t win the championship, I would certainly be asking the same thing.”

Of course, that’s assuming Piastri would listen to that team order.

“Let’s assume Oscar would actually do that,” Brundle continued, “should he be asked to do so.

“Let’s imagine it was Max Verstappen winning and Oscar second and George Russell third and Lando fourth. Would they ask Oscar to give a podium up and drop back to fourth to allow Lando to win the title? I’m pretty sure they will.”

He added: “All the points count for all the whole season. They are equal in status. If you look back at some of the spectacular victories we have seen from all three drivers this season, I believe they would all be worthy world champions.

“It’s going to be great. It’s like a movie script. All to play for. Lando has less to do. We have a standard weekend, no sprint, no cap on tyres. It only needs a bit of contact, reliability, for any of the three of them, and it will turn on its head.”

The big question, though, is what will Piastri do if team orders are issued?

Even he admits right now he doesn’t know.

“It’s not something that we’ve discussed,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media at the Yas Marina Circuit. “Until I know what’s expected, I don’t really have an answer until I know what is expected of me.”

Norris also concedes it’s one that up to his teammate to do what feels best for him.

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

“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.”

Brundle’s right, McLaren is ‘damned if they do, damned if they don’t’

McLaren will wake up Sunday morning praying for one clear-cut situation – Norris to finish inside the top three.

As long as that happens, the team order question never has to be answered. Brown and Andrea Stella can go into next season adamant they would’ve let the drivers race to the chequered flag.

After all, anything else would be unfair to Piastri, surely?

McLaren didn’t favour him earlier this season when he was cruising to the World title. In anything, the team’s papaya regulations tripped up Piastri in Monza, with Piastri then overdriving in Baku and crashing, before he was again on the wrong side of a call in Singapore. Piastri again tried too hard the next race and spun into Norris at the Sprint in Austin.

So too now favour Norris could – and has – raised eyebrows. That’s not to say Norris doesn’t deserve the title, he has shown the better pace of the teammates in the last handful of races and came to the fore at just the right time.

But in a season of ‘let them race’, papaya regulations and fairness, surely they should be allowed to race to the very end?

Live by the papaya, die by the papaya.

Even Norris accepts this, telling PlanetF1.com and other media in Abu Dhabi of a potential McLaren loss: “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.”

Read next: Is Lando Norris going to choke?