Why the ticking McLaren F1 time bomb may explode

In the early stages of the season, there seemed to be few problems for Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

The formidable partnership started the season in strong fashion with four wins from five races. After the Miami Grand Prix, however, that situation changed, as McLaren emerged like a jack-in-the-box when Lando Norris won the grand prix. 

From that moment on, the tables turned and the rest of the season took shape.

McLaren and Norris regularly pulled ahead with the fastest car in the field and were able to slightly reduce the lead of Verstappen and Red Bull each time. 

For his part, Verstappen managed to pick up some points through that well-known 'Verstappen factor', but the conclusion was clear: Norris and McLaren were rock solid and Red Bull was facing a serious opponent.

Some months later, after the Brazil Grand Prix to be exact, the situation looks very different again. 

McLaren has now taken over the lead in the constructors' championship from Red Bull, partly due to the disappointing performance of Sergio Perez, but in the drivers' championship the British stable is still lacking. 

After a masterclass from Verstappen in Brazil, there is a good chance he could secure his fourth title as early as Las Vegas. That is great news for Red Bull, but that fact will also be of great interest to McLaren.

Team orders

In fact, at McLaren, everything has been done recently to help Norris get as far as possible in the drivers' championship, but all that effort now seems to have been for nought. 

It sounds a bit harsh to put it that way, but Norris was not the only one to experience the effects of McLaren's new role on the grid. 

Team-mate Oscar Piastri, who has again shown a considerable upward trend this season, was subject to team orders and was sometimes forced to make way for his team-mate - even when he was the faster of the two.

It didn't happen very often, but the mere discussion of possible team orders caused quite a bit of unrest at McLaren. Consider the most recent example during the sprint race in Brazil, where Piastri started ahead of Norris but ended up finishing behind him. 

The swap went ahead, although there was a particularly long wait at the pit wall to make the call. Norris failed to pass Piastri on his own merit during the sprint race, with the Australian showcasing he could handle the pressure just fine.

But let that be the very point where problems could arise, because Piastri has made no secret of the fact that he is generally not a fan of team orders. 

Piastri revealed earlier that manager Mark Webber, a former Formula 1 driver with plenty of experience of team intervention, regularly assists him in discussions with the team. Webber fulfils an important role in that regard.

Piastri already let it be known that he would only step aside if the team explicitly asked him to. 

For the drivers' championship, Piastri's cooperation was crucial, but now that the title no longer seems attainable for Norris, there is the chance the internal team order structure is also flying out the door. And that presents opportunities for Piastri... 

The battle does seem to have already been closed this year, but next season, the drivers will start again with a clean slate. 

A new campaign brings with it new opportunities and Piastri will want to take full advantage of that. 

It's important to remember the 23-year-old is only starting his third season in F1 driver and is still prone to making mistakes, but he will undoubtedly want to prove himself in the races remaining on the schedule this year. 

But those who take risks also know that mistakes and problems are lingering around the corner. Norris and Piastri will both not want to give in easily, but that could turn out badly for the two gentlemen. 

And that means, to make matters worse, indirectly bad news for McLaren as well. The drivers' title may be unattainable, but the constructors' title is anything but. 

With a lead of only 36 points over Ferrari, anything can still happen in that fight, so McLaren will need the full focus of both its drivers to win. But with those personal interests in mind, the final phase of this season could suddenly look very different for the British team.