McLaren driver Lando Norris said today that he will not seek help from teammate Oscar Piastre in his fight for the Formula One championship title in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
Norris is first in the championship with 12 points more than the current champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull and 16 more than Piastre. All three have a chance of winning the title, and Norris only needs to win one of the top three places to become world champion for the first time in his career.
McLaren has a "papaya rule" in place, meaning no driver is favoured, and team officials have said they intend to keep it that way in Abu Dhabi, but that discussions will be held with the drivers. If Piastre is in a better position than Norris, with Verstappen doing well, there is speculation that McLaren could ask him to let his teammate overtake him.
"It's not really up to me and I'm not going to ask," Norris told reporters in Abu Dhabi when asked about team orders, the BBC reported.
"I'm not going to ask because I don't think it's necessarily a fair question. I don't know. It's up to Oscar to decide whether he'll allow it, you know," Norris added.
Pjastri needs a win for the title, without Norris taking the top five. "We haven't talked about that. Until I know what's expected, I don't have an answer," Pjastri said.
Norris said he would be willing to step aside and let a teammate overtake him if the roles were reversed.
"I think I would, because I think I'm always like that. I'm like that," Norris said.
After the race in the Netherlands in late August, Norris was 34 points behind Piastre, but he then finished on the podium at Monza, Singapore and Austin and won in Mexico and Brazil, taking the lead.
The McLaren duo was disqualified from the race in Las Vegas, where Verstappen, who also triumphed in the previous race in Qatar, won, after poor tactics by McLaren.
Verstappen was 104 points behind Piastre after the race in the Netherlands, but after five wins since the summer break, he returned to the competition.
He needs a win in Abu Dhabi for the title, without Norris taking the top three places.
"I didn't expect to fight for the title, but here we are. After Zandvoort everything was cancelled. My dad is at the rally, my mom is with the dogs. Of course, they always support me, my mom always lights a candle before every race weekend. But I guess they trust their son," said Verstappen.
The Dutchman is trying to win his fifth consecutive title, which would equal Michael Schumacher's record for the most consecutive titles.
Norris said that if Verstappen is better than him and Piastre, he would congratulate the Dutchman and look forward to next year.
"It doesn't change anything, it doesn't change my life. If that's the case, they'll deserve more than us," Norris said.
The final race of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, is scheduled for Sunday at 14 p.m.
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