“Let Lando pass for the championship” – there should not be such a legendary sentence at McLaren at the Formula 1 showdown in Qatar (all training sessions as well as the sprint on Saturday/November 29th, 2025 from 3 p.m. and the Grand Prix on Sunday from 5 p.m. in the live ticker at sportschau.de). But that can be expensive.
Many people in the McLaren racing team still know how expensive it is, even if it was 18 years ago. In 2007, the two McLaren drivers dueled at the front of the field: a cheeky and incredibly talented newcomer named Lewis Hamilton and the experienced top dog Fernando Alonso.
Because the Brit didn’t want to submit and the team leadership didn’t take consistent action, the fight between his colleagues escalated completely at the end of the season. The result was that the team actually lost the title they thought was guaranteed: Hamilton and Alonso were ultimately tied with 109 points each, but the World Cup crown was secured by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen with 110 points.
Verstappen could be the beneficiary
Not the enmity of the two pilots, but the initial situation is certainly comparable to the current one. Lando Norris leads the field with a 24 point lead, there are still two Grand Prixes and a Sprint. He is closely followed by his teammate Oscar Piastri and the four-time world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull – who was practically hopeless during the summer break, but is now suddenly within striking distance.
Piastri could now drive for Norris. If the course of the race allowed it, he could slow down Verstappen, take time away from him, he could actively contribute to ensuring that the title goes to McLaren and not to the Bulls. There have been similar cases again and again in the history of Formula 1.
Team boss Jean Todt as “the highest authority”
The most famous radio message in the “Stallorder” case occurred in 2001 in Spielberg, Austria. The Brazilian Rubens Barrichello had been faster than his Ferrari colleague Michael Schumacher throughout the race weekend, but the German was leading the championship standings and needed full points. There was said to be a deal before the race: Barrichello’s contract was extended, but – if both cars were ahead at the end of the race – he was supposed to let Schumacher win.
But Barrichello, who no longer had a chance of winning the title himself, drove calmly at the front and still had a lead of 3.8 seconds with six laps to go. The Ferrari command post became more and more nervous before team boss Jean Todt himself finally got on the pit radio: “Let Michael pass for the championship!”he shouted at the Brazilian, who finally obeyed: Schumacher won the race and became world champion. Todt later said: “I only spoke on the radio when the highest authority was required.”
Clarification from team boss Andrea Stella
In 2025, the highest authority at McLaren will actually continue to be the fair competition between the two drivers. This is what the orange team’s “Papaya Rules” say. Team boss Andrea Stella denied the question about a possible stable order before it could be asked. “No, there is no reason to change the approach. We have always said that we will leave it to the two drivers to fight for their chance – as long as the math says otherwise. And that’s how it will be in Qatar.”
So Piastri continues to drive on his own account as long as he still has the theoretical chance of catching up – even if his performance curve has been trending in the opposite direction for weeks.
Verstappen celebrates McLaren decision
Piastri reveals that a possible stable order was actually briefly discussed: “But the answer is no.” Verstappen is of course enthusiastic about it, he described McLaren’s decision as “perfect”. His reasoning: “You can’t make a better decision than to let the two of them drive. Why should you suddenly ban Oscar from doing that? If someone had told me that, I wouldn’t have shown up in the first place. I would have told him to fuck off. So yes, if you’re a real winner as a driver, then you give it your all – even if you’re behind.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen holds up the trophy
That sounds convincing. So convincing that you almost have to believe Verstappen that in a similar case he would also refuse any help from his own teammate or his racing strategists.