Lando Norris won’t have team orders to help him in Las Vegas (Image: Getty)
have backed off their team orders for the onwards, spare for some ‘very specific scenarios’. With 62 points separating the two title protagonists and just three races remaining, ’ challenge is all but over.
Until this point, have been willing to sacrifice Oscar Piastri’s races to help Norris pick up any incremental gains on . In Brazil, he passed over the sprint race win to his team-mate, and on Sunday he conceded P6 to the Brit late in the Grand Prix.
However, with Verstappen romping to one of his best-ever F1 victories around the rain-soaked Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, the gap between the two championship contenders has been stretched to a nearly insurmountable 62 points. If the Dutchman leaves Las Vegas with an advantage of 60 or better, he will be crowned a four-time world champion.
With the odds stacked against Norris, have wheeled back on their team orders demands from Piastri. “Pretty much, yes,” the Australian racer said on Thursday when asked if the ‘Papaya Rules’ had been shelved.
“There’s still some, let’s say, very specific scenarios where I might be needed to help out. But for the very large majority of situations, it’s back to how it was. The drivers’ championship picture is very slim, and the Constructors’ Championship is certainly not over for us.
“It’s certainly not a done deal, so that’s definitely the biggest thing. So it’s a very specific few scenarios that maybe I’ll still help out if that’s what I’m asked to do, but I’m going into the weekend trying to win.”
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Max Verstappen is closing in on his fourth World Championship crown (Image: Getty)
When asked about the mental fallout from an unfortunate Brazilian Grand Prix, Norris stopped short of calling his title dreams over but admitted that it would take a miraculous swing to see him crowned champion in Abu Dhabi.
“It was a defining moment for the championship,” he said. “The door is almost shut. I was pretty down for a week after Brazil because there was the realisation that things are out of my control and not within reach and that was a tough moment.
“When your hopes and beliefs are so high, and then for them to get knocked down, that was pretty demoralising and not the best of feelings but you learn to accept that is life. I can survive, I can put up a fight, and that is what I will do.
“But at some point you know it is not going to go your way. You never know. I am not saying it is over and I wouldn’t until it is, but it is very far out of reach. I need a lot of luck. I have to win three races, and hope Max fails to finish in those three races.”