McLaren have not discussed the possibility of imposing team orders to ensure one of its drivers wins the world championship this weekend, according to Lando Norris.

He goes into this weekend’s race leading Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 12 points, while his team mate Oscar Piastri is 16 points off the lead.

A top-three finish for Norris would guarantee him the title. While McLaren has tried not to favour either driver in the title fight this year, it could face a situation where the only way it could prevent Verstappen taking the title is if it orders Piastri to let Norris overtake him.

Norris said he would be happy to benefit from such a call by the team. However he does not intend to suggest it.

Analysis: The realistic scenario where McLaren could order Piastri to help Norris win the title

“It’s not been discussed,” said Norris. “Honestly, I would love it, but I don’t think I would ask [for] it.

“It’s up to Oscar if he would allow it. I don’t think it’s necessarily down to me.”

However Norris said he would offer the same help to Piastri if asked. “It’s the same if it’s the other way around: would I be willing to or not? Personally I think I would, just because I feel like I’m always like that and that’s just how I am.

“But it’s not really up to me. I’m not going to ask it, I don’t want to ask it because I don’t think it’s necessarily a fair question.

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“At the same time, if that’s how it ends and Max wins then that’s it: congrats to him and I look forward to next year. It doesn’t change anything, doesn’t change my life, so he will deserve it over us.”

Piastri said he hasn’t considered how he would handle such a situation. “It’s not something we’ve discussed,” he said. “So I don’t really have an answer until I know what’s expected of me.”

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