Time’s up for courtesies. The rules go out the window, even the noblest ones. McLaren, which has always let its drivers fight freely, is finally giving in to common sense—there’s an opportunity it cannot afford to waste in the name of team etiquette. The title is only a few metres away, just hours from now, at the last race in the Abu Dhabi desert. Lando Norris leads the standings by 16 points over teammate Oscar Piastri, who ended FP3 in fifth place—perhaps also penalised by having skipped the first session to hand the car over to debutant Pato O’Ward (nine rookies in total).

“We’re going to wait and see how the race plays out. Sitting here right now, I kind of view it as all three drivers have an equal opportunity to win the Grand Prix. So, until that changes, we’re going to go racing as usual”. Zak Brown confirmed in the Abu Dhabi prrss conference the philosophy that has ruled the whole 2025 season and that has brought to win the Constructor title for two years in a row.

But then, asked if the team would expect Piastri to give up his position to help Norris secure the title were such a situation to arise, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown told Sky Sports F1: “Yes, of course. We’re realistic. We want to win this Drivers’ Championship. We’re going into the weekend knowing they both have an equal opportunity, even though there’s obviously a points gap. You don’t know how qualifying will go, reliability, but if we get into the race and it becomes 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. We want to win the Drivers’ Championship. So, we’ll see how the race plays out, but we’re not going to lose the championship because we’re trying to protect a third and a fourth, or a sixth and a seventh, or whatever the situation may be.”

Norris: a podium would mean triumph
A podium finish is all Norris needs to be crowned champion—regardless of anyone else’s result.
“Looking at the times, everything’s fine at the moment, but I want a bit more from the car. I’m not totally happy.”
Above all, Lando knows nothing is guaranteed, even though everything seems to favour him and despite having dominated this track last year. Because between the two papaya cars stands the inconvenient presence of Max Verstappen—second and slightly behind in the evening session, but equipped with a Red Bull he can turn into a spaceship, and one that has won in the Emirates four times in a row (2020–2023). He is only 12 points behind the Briton, but more importantly he’s racing with a lightness unknown to the others: he already has four trophies at home, as he pointed out the other day, shifting the pressure onto his rivals.
And he has already experienced moments like this—here at Yas Marina in 2021, he clinched his first crown at the expense of Lewis Hamilton in a harsh and controversial race.

Everyone will need a place in the sun today in qualifying. And they’ll do whatever they can to drag the championship fight to the very last corner.

Allies like Mercedes and Ferrari may also have a role to play on the grid. The Silver Arrows with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli are still fighting for second in the Constructors’ Championship. The red cars of Charles Leclerc and especially Lewis Hamilton want to close a bitter season with a proud finish. One thing is certain: on the papaya pit wall, they won’t be consulting the ethics code.

“If we get into the race and it becomes clear enough that one has a chance and the other doesn’t, we’ll do everything possible to win the Drivers’ Championship. It would be crazy not to,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown said. “We’re not going to lose the championship to protect any particular finishing position.”

In Qatar last week, they actually managed to ruin their race because they stuck to internal rules.
Game over—no more courtesies for guests.