What was McLaren's most controversial 2025 team order?

Despite Lando Norris securing a maiden F1 drivers' title and McLaren clinching a second consecutive constructors' championship, 2025 was a year of controversial decisions by the team.

While McLaren dominated much of the season, the Woking-based outfit did not always grab the headlines for positive reasons, with several team orders causing considerable debate.

McLaren's 'Papaya Rules' again had a significant presence, effectively meaning that Norris and Oscar Piastri must avoid colliding with each other. In Canada, Singapore, and Austin, that went out the window.

However, in addition to the use of Papaya Rules, specific McLaren instructions at various points throughout the season caused evident tension.

The use of team orders began in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, when Piastri, running second, was instructed to hold position behind Norris.

McLaren cited dealing with traffic and approaching wet weather as the reason. This left Piastri frustrated; he went on to finish ninth after spinning when rain started to fall late in the race.

Wet weather again caused chaos in the British Grand Prix, a race Piastri was leading before being handed a 10-second time penalty. He was penalised for being judged to have braked too hard behind the safety car, forcing Max Verstappen to take avoiding action.

Upon serving the penalty, Piastri fell behind Norris and asked the team to swap positions and return the race lead to him – a request McLaren denied.

Team orders returned once again after the summer break, this time in the closing stages of the Italian Grand Prix. Norris had been in second, with Piastri in third, although the positions swapped after both pitted.

Piastri pitted first and received a flawless pit stop – the fastest of the season at 1.91s – while Norris' stop a lap later was slow, causing him to rejoin the track behind his team-mate. Due to Norris losing position because of the team's error, Piastri was ordered to hand second place back to Norris.

Reluctantly, Piastri followed the instruction. Had he not, Verstappen would have won a fifth consecutive F1 drivers' title.

Two races later, McLaren team orders were again a major talking point in Singapore after Piastri was hit by Norris on the opening lap. While overtaking Piastri for second on the first lap, Norris made contact with the Australian.

This left Piastri furious and saw him ask McLaren to return the positions, a request the team denied. However, after the race, the squad placed "repercussions" on Norris for hitting his team-mate.

Which of the four incidents was the most controversial?

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