As the 2025 Formula One season barrels toward its finale, the championship picture has been violently reshuffled by McLaren’s double disqualification in Las Vegas. The fallout has sparked renewed scrutiny of internal team dynamics, particularly the long-rumoured contractual safeguard said to shield Oscar Piastri from being subordinated to Lando Norris. With only two races and a sprint remaining, every clause, every point, and every political nuance suddenly carries immense weight.
According to Jacques Villeneuve, Piastri’s deal contains a provision preventing McLaren from issuing team orders that would prioritise Norris—an intriguing twist given the team’s famous “No No.1” philosophy. In essence, as long as both drivers remain mathematically capable of claiming the crown, neither can be compelled to yield for the sake of the other. After Vegas, where Norris’ lead shrank to 24 points and Verstappen reignited his own title ambitions, that clause becomes more than a footnote; it becomes a strategic chokehold.
McLaren’s disqualification for excessive skid-block wear detonated the standings, erasing crucial points and intensifying the championship triangle among Norris, Piastri, and Verstappen. FIA officials offered a meticulous breakdown of the breach, detailing sub-9mm plank measurements with micrometre-level precision. Despite McLaren’s appeals citing porpoising, limited practice, and unpredictable track conditions, the stewards held firm: technical non-compliance, intentional or not, leaves no escape route. The penalty had to be absolute.
What the clause likely guarantees is simple yet potent: Piastri cannot be instructed to surrender track position to Norris, even if doing so would significantly strengthen McLaren’s title charge. This type of contractual armour is normally reserved for the team’s established lead driver, making its presence in Piastri’s agreement all the more telling. If both remain in contention through Qatar and Abu Dhabi, McLaren could find itself tactically handcuffed in a championship fight already teetering on the edge.
Meanwhile, Verstappen emerges as the silent beneficiary of McLaren’s meltdown. The Vegas chaos has breathed oxygen into his dwindling campaign, transforming a distant mathematical hope into a revitalised threat. As the paddock digests the FIA’s uncompromising verdict and analyses the political tensions simmering within McLaren, the title battle now feels more volatile than ever—a precarious three-way duel shaped not only by pace on track, but by contractual fine print and the ruthlessness of the rulebook.
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