Grand Prix

George Russell Warns Against "Unacceptable" F1 Title Twist In Abu Dhabi Finale

McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are battling with Max Verstappen for the drivers' crown at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Ewan Gale|
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1

Mercedes driver George Russell has warned McLaren against enforcing team orders as the fight for the Formula 1 world drivers' title reaches its climax at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are separated by 16 points in the championship, split by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman sitting 12 points adrift from the lead.

Norris needs only a third-place finish to secure a maiden title, but if Verstappen wins and he is fourth behind teammate Piastri, then McLaren could enforce a position swap to ensure its driver wins over Red Bull's.

Russell gives his verdict

Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
McLaren Racing

It would be the first time that the squad would outright favor one driver over another this season, having used its Papaya rules across the campaign to remain as down the middle as possible, which in itself has created some flashpoints.

Any team order would be especially painful for Piastri, given he was 34-points ahead of Norris and 104 points ahead of Verstappen with nine rounds left after victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, only for a run of eight races without a podium — which was finally broken in Qatar last weekend — setting him back and seeing him drop to third.

Norris dominated in Mexico City and Brazil to take the upper hand, while Verstappen put a difficult start to the season behind him with five victories in the last eight events to slash the advantage, helped by a McLaren strategy blunder in Qatar and a disqualification for both Papaya cars in Las Vegas.

But giving his thoughts on the championship showdown, Russell said: “I don’t think it’s acceptable or reasonable to ask a driver who also has a shot of the championship in the very last race to move over for your team-mate.

“I think if it’s in other seasons gone by, let’s say Checo [Sergio Perez] and Max, or [Rubens] Barrichello and [Michael] Schumacher [at Ferrari], clearly when one driver is going for the championship and the guy who doesn’t have a shot of winning the championship moves over, that is absolutely reasonable - I think every single driver would do that.

“But for me, I don’t think it would be fair at all [for Piastri to move aside]. I think they both need to be given a shot. And if they lose out of because of it, you just need to say the other guy did a better job and that’s racing. That’s how it should be.”

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Ewan Gale
EWAN GALE

Ewan is a motorsport journalist covering F1 for Grand Prix On SI. Having been educated at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix, and subsequently graduating from university with a sports journalism degree, Ewan made a move into F1 in 2021. Ewan joins after a stint with Autosport as an editor, having written for a number of outlets including RacingNews365 and GPFans, during which time he has covered grand prix and car launches as an accredited member of the media.

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