Written by Aida Hawk

@alwaysaida16

October 8, 2025

Team Orders have been widely accepted as a part of motor racing since the early days of the sport, though they were banned for a few years starting in 2002. The ban was ultimately lifted as at a certain point many people, even drivers, have found them necessary. It’s perhaps best put into words by racing driver Damon Hill;

“If we race, if we two race, we could end up with nothing […] If we don’t race each other, we’ve got an opportunity to get a first and second, it’s your choice.”

When two drivers on the same team – especially when one is leading the championship or in a position to do so and the other is not – are ordered not to race, or to trade places, that is when Team Orders are called into effect. These kinds of tactics are often understood in advance by the drivers and the team, and decided before the race. It ensures that the drivers don’t end up fighting – and potentially crashing – which could lose the team valuable points. But on a few occasions, it’s been much more controversial than that. So what makes them so contentious that even the FIA turned against them at one point?

Take, for example, the Renault controversy of 2008. Dubbed “Crashgate” by much of the media, it was a scandal that ended with a wrecked car and members of Renault’s leadership banned from the sport. On September 28th, 2008, Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed during the Singapore Grand Prix, providing his teammate, Fernando Alonso with an advantage in the race.

Piquet Jr. drove for the team for a little longer, but after being dropped by Renault, opened up about the fact that the crash had been requested of him. While not all the details are known, the FIA’s investigation led to two members of Renault’s team leaving the sport; Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds.

Crashgate is an example of the extreme power that teams have over their drivers; despite being ordered to crash so that his teammate could have a better shot at winning the race, Piquet Jr. didn’t speak up about it until after he had already been dropped by the team. Most likely knowing that he would have faced potential consequences and could have lost his seat had he spoken up before.

Team Orders have continued to be a controversial topic – though thankfully not always such a dangerous one – even to this day; with many fans of the McLaren Formula One team remembering with a wince the events of the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2024.

During the race, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri led forty-five out of the seventy laps before Lando Norris took the lead due to being pitted first to cover off the Mercedes car behind him. With only twenty laps left, McLaren made the call to swap their drivers; affording Piastri his maiden win.

Norris’ reluctance to let the other McLaren past was evident, but in the end, he followed the team’s orders and allowed Piastri past close to the end of the seventy laps. It was a controversial first win, to say the least, and many fans were frustrated not only by how it had been handled but also by how it had tainted one of their favorite driver’s first wins.

But Hungary 2024 wasn’t the last time that McLaren has done something similar, due to a pitstop strategy that might be considered confusing by those on the outside. In one of the more recent faces of the season – which took place in Monza, Italy – Lando was leading the McLaren’s in second place, but was failed by a slow pit stop. The mistake allowed Piastri to take the lead from his teammate, slotting into second place behind race leader Max Verstappen.

To remedy this, McLaren requested that Piastri let Norris by; citing Hungary 2024 as a similar circumstance. Piastri was seemingly a bit confused by this, as were some of the other drivers who heard about what had happened. Piastri saying;

“I don’t really get what’s changed here. But if you really want me to do it, I’ll do it.”

He did end up letting Norris take the position from him, and finished in third, just behind his teammate, who took second. But despite the lack of drama on track, the fans – and even the commentators – seemed confused by what had transpired; saying that a slow pit stop was simply a part of racing. The incident took over the internet like wildfire; with people reacting to the moment and a number of memes emerging.

Team Orders have always been a part of the sport – and most likely always will be – but so will the fan’s varying reactions to them. They’re one of the most controversial parts of the sport because of how subjective they can be. And while they are certainly necessary at times, they can also be confusing, and even dangerous.

In the current era of racing and the 2025 Driver’s World Championship it’s incredibly interesting to see how they might change how things play out. When one team has a say over both challengers for the title, how much control can they let slip from their fingers in the name of equality? Or is it more important to McLaren to actively build what they deem to be a sense of fairness?