Norris unmoved as McLaren resists team orders — even with Verstappen looming
Lando Norris isn’t blinking. With Max Verstappen storming back into the picture and five rounds left on the 2025 calendar, McLaren’s title leader-by-committee approach remains exactly that: a committee of two.
“Nothing changes,” Norris told reporters in Mexico when asked if McLaren might start leaning on team orders. The message from Woking is just as blunt: both drivers race, right up until one of them is no longer mathematically in it. No coded calls, no quiet reshuffles. Keep it clean, keep it fair.
Depending on your angle, that’s either admirable or reckless. Because while McLaren has spent the season trading punches in-house, Verstappen has started swinging haymakers again. The Red Bull driver has won three of the last four grands prix and nicked the Sprint in Austin, banking 101 of a possible 108 points in that run. Norris scored 57; championship leader Oscar Piastri managed just 37. The result is the title fight has tightened into a three-car squeeze: Verstappen’s deficit to Piastri is down to 40 points, and he’s only 26 behind Norris.
Cue the chorus: pick a side. Even some rivals have hinted McLaren could snuff out Verstappen’s late charge by throwing their weight behind a single driver. The counterpoint? Try selling that to the driver you’re benching when he’s winning races and still in with a shot.
Norris, for one, isn’t asking for favors. He maintains he “certainly believes” he can beat both his teammate and a four-time champion over the run-in, saying he’s got “more confidence” now than during last year’s brief title flirtation. But he’s also realistic about the rhythm of this season — his own Zandvoort engine failure, the ebb and flow against Piastri, and Verstappen’s familiar habit of turning small windows into open doors.
“It’s not like I’ve won every race since,” Norris said when asked about clawing his way back from 34 points down after Zandvoort to sit just 14 behind Piastri today. He pointed out that Red Bull’s speed never really vanished; the poles were there all year, and once the car clicked again, Verstappen did what Verstappen does.
Here’s the rub for McLaren. On raw form, you can’t split them. Piastri owns seven wins and five poles. Norris has five wins and four poles. The gap between them in the standings? Fourteen points. If you’re going to pick a horse, what’s your argument that doesn’t crater the other garage?
Zak Brown isn’t interested in starting that fire. The McLaren CEO has been open about the team’s philosophy and said he’s comfortable accepting the consequences if fairness ends up costing the Drivers’ crown. His logic is hard to contest: how do you demote one of two title contenders wearing the same colors? You can’t — not credibly, not without fallout that lasts well beyond Abu Dhabi.
And yet, the Verstappen problem remains. On paper, McLaren can still keep him at bay without picking favorites. If the Dutchman wins all five remaining grands prix and both Sprints — a haul of 141 points — and Piastri simply follows him home every time for 104, the Australian still takes the title by 450 to 447. But that math is brittle. If Norris finishes between them even once on a Sunday, the needle swings toward Verstappen. That’s the strategic trap: the very equality McLaren celebrates could open the door to Red Bull.
This is where belief meets risk. Norris is convinced he’s driving better than ever. Piastri, leading the championship and quietly ruthless on Sundays, doesn’t back down from anyone. McLaren has built a car that’s good anywhere and terrifying on its good days. The only real opponent they haven’t had to manage yet is each other — not emotionally, but tactically. Because the purest version of “let them race” can morph into “let Max in” if the timing is wrong or a pit wall hesitates.
What we’re likely to see over the final five is more of the same: McLaren letting its drivers trade blows, summon team play when it’s obvious, and otherwise live with the chaos. The team doesn’t want Ferrari 2002 headlines, and it doesn’t need to. It just needs to execute the basics better than a Red Bull camp that’s suddenly remembered its lines.
McLaren’s stance won’t satisfy everyone, but it is consistent. Norris knows the score. Piastri knows the score. Verstappen definitely knows the score. Two papayas against one charging Red Bull is a great problem to have — until it isn’t. If McLaren threads this needle, they’ll call it brave. If Verstappen slips through it, they’ll call it a gift.
Either way, nothing changes. Not until the math says it has to.
