McLaren heads into Azerbaijan GP on verge of F1 constructors' title

The Formula 1 title race is heating up and McLaren's golden rule — “Let 'em race” — risks expanding into a whole rule book.

Asking Oscar Piastri to give up second place to Lando Norris at the Italian Grand Prix because of a slow pit stop showed how McLaren's seemingly simple approach risks being bogged down in debates about what's fair on track.

The battle between Norris and Piastri will become McLaren's sole focus if the team can wrap up the constructors’ title Sunday at the Azerbaijan GP in Baku with a record seven races remaining.

Friday practice brought some unexpected problems, however, as both McLarens bumped the wall.

McLaren leads by 337 points and takes the title if one driver wins and the other is second or third, which would end the faint mathematical chances of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.

It's a big contrast to last year when McLaren held off Ferrari in the final race of the season to win the constructors’ title for the first time in 26 years. “It’s a pretty remarkable position that we’re in,” Piastri said. “A very proud moment for everybody and myself included.”

It didn't go all McLaren's way in Friday practice after Norris and Piastri bumped the barriers in the second session.

Norris said it was “costly” and “annoying” that he had to limp back to the pits after hitting the wall with the rear left wheel midway through the session, and didn’t come back out. Piastri had his own brush with the barrier and was 12th, two places behind Norris.

“It was feeling good until then,” Norris said of his incident. "I’d rather have this and push and find the limits than not push at all.”

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time, .074 of a second ahead of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, with George Russell third for Mercedes after overcoming an illness to take part.

Norris led the way in first practice by .310 of a second from Piastri, who needed McLaren's mechanics to check a problem with his car. Leclerc was third. The session was stopped for over 20 minutes while damage to a trackside curb was fixed.

“I think the pace is there, it’s just not the easiest to get the most out of it,” Piastri said.

Piastri also faced an investigation for allegedly failing to slow for yellow flags in the second session. Similar cases have prompted grid penalties in the past, but Piastri got only a reprimand because the yellow flag was withdrawn a split second after the signal was first visible to him.

Was swapping the cars in Italy the best way for McLaren to make up for a team mistake beyond Norris' control? Or was Piastri punished for something that's “just part of racing,” as he suggested over the radio?

The Monza decision prompted yet more discussion at McLaren about the best way to race.

“We’ve again had a lot of discussions about how we want to go racing and a lot of that is to stay for us,” Piastri said, adding that giving away the details could allow rival teams to exploit McLaren's approach. "I do think we have enough freedom to control our own destiny in the championship."

That call left Piastri with a lead of 31 points, instead of 37. Expect to hear a lot more about it at the end of the season if that six-point swing decides the title.

“You can’t plan for every single scenario that’s going to happen, but I think we’re very aligned," Piastri said. "Ultimately I respect the team’s decisions and trust that they'll certainly do their best to make the right ones.”

Azerbaijan is a place where team rivalry has boiled over before.

In 2018, it was where up-and-coming challenger Max Verstappen collided with established contender Daniel Ricciardo. It forced Red Bull into a rethink of its “no team orders” approach — not dissimilar to McLaren's “let 'em race” — and set the two drivers on opposite trajectories.

Ricciardo was only on the podium once more that season, lost out to Verstappen by 79 points and left the team at the end of 2018. Verstappen hasn't had a teammate who's challenged him since.

The gap between him and Yuki Tsunoda is vast — 230 points to 12.

Red Bull heads into Azerbaijan widely expected to replace Tsunoda in 2026 with Isack Hadjar, whose podium finish in the Netherlands was an exclamation point in a strong rookie season.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands in action during the second practice for the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the second practice for the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia prepares for the first training for the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain sits in pit lane during the first training for the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain in action during the first training for the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain walks through the paddock at the Baku City Circuit, ahead of the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia attends a news conference at the Baku City Circuit, ahead of the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

GUANARE, Venezuela (AP) — Freedom came too late for Edilson Torres.

The police officer was buried Tuesday in his humble, rural hometown following his death in a Venezuelan prison, where he was held incommunicado since his December detention on what his family said were politically motivated accusations. Before the service, a funeral procession stopped at a local jail, where his wife remains detained on disputed accusations.

Torres, 51, died of a heart attack on Saturday, just as his family awaited the government's promised release of prisoners following the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro. His death comes as scores of families like his — who once hesitated to approach advocacy groups — are now coming forward to register their loved ones as “political prisoners.”

Alfredo Romero, director of the organization Foro Penal, a nongovernmental organization that tracks and advocates for Venezuelan prisoners, said the group has received a “flood of messages” since last week from families.

“They didn’t report it out of fear, and now they’re doing it because, in a way, they feel that there is this possibility that their families will be freed,” Romero said. “They see it as hope, but more importantly, as an opportunity.”

The head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following the explosions that rocked the South American nation in the early hours of Jan. 3.

The U.S. and Venezuela's opposition have long demanded the widespread release of detained opposition figures, activists and journalists, whom they claim are used as a political tool by the ruling party.

Venezuela’s government denies that there are prisoners unjustly detained, accusing them of plotting to destabilize Maduro’s government.

Following Torres' death, Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement that the case had been assigned to a terrorism unit and “was linked to criminal activities detected by state security agencies.” He did not offer any details, but the vague language tracks with past accusations leveled against real or perceived government critics.

Romero explained that of the roughly 300 families who reached out, about 100 cases so far have been confirmed as politically motivated. Most of those reported over the past few days, he said, once worked for Venezuela's military. That is on top of more than 800 people that the organization says continue to be detained for political reasons in Venezuela.

As of Tuesday evening, Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization's count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.

But the government did not provide evidence of the releases, a time range in which they were carried out nor identify those freed, making it impossible to determine whether those freed were behind bars for political or other reasons.

“My little brother, my little brother,” Emelyn Torres said between sobs after his casket, cloaked in Venezuela's flag, arrived at her home for the wake. A few feet away, their grandmother nearly fainted as dozens of people crammed into the living room to pay their respects.

Hours earlier, as a minivan transported the body of her brother 267 miles (430 kilometers) from the capital, Caracas, to Guanare, Torres learned that other men linked to the WhatsApp group that led to her brother's arrest had just been released from prison. She wailed.

Among those who have been released are: human rights attorney Rocío San Miguel, who immediately relocated to Spain; Biagio Pilieri, an opposition leader who was part of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado’s 2024 presidential campaign; and Enrique Márquez, a former electoral authority and presidential candidate.

Italian businessman Marco Burlò, who was released from prison Monday, told reporters outside an international airport in Rome Tuesday that he was kept isolated throughout his detention, which he characterized as a “pure and real kidnapping.”

“I can’t say that I was physically abused, but without being able to talk to our children, without the right to defense, without being able to speak to the lawyer, completely isolated, here they thought that I might have died,” he said.

The small set of releases over the past few days continues to fuel criticisms by families, human rights watchdogs at the United Nations and U.S. politicians, who have accused the government of not following through on their word of a wider release.

But the rapid political shifts in the Latin American nation and the distant possibility of release simultaneously marked a rare moment of hope for many families who have spent years wondering if their loved ones would ever be freed.

Part of the reason that Romero said he believed so many people had not come forward is the government's ongoing crackdown on dissent since Venezuela's tumultuous 2024 election, which Maduro claimed to have won despite ample credible evidence to the contrary.

As mass street protests broke out, authorities said they detained more than 2,000 people. In the month after July elections, Venezuela's government passed a law — dubbed the “anti-NGO law” by critics — making it easier for the government to criminalize human rights groups.

That had a chilling effect, Romero said, making families hesitant to come forward — until now.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Members of a motorcycle club, friends of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, carry his coffin at a cemetery in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives stand by the coffin of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, gather around his grave during his funeral in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, waits outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Relatives and friends of political prisoners hold candles calling for their loved ones to be set free outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 after the government announced prisoners would be released. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Relatives stand beside the coffin during the wake of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

El Helicoide, the headquarters of Venezuela's intelligence service and detention center, stands in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Flor Zambrano, whose son, Rene Chourio, she says is detained at Zone 7 of the Bolivarian National Police for political reasons, embraces relatives of other detainees outside the facility in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

A photo of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, and his family adorns his coffin during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, sit by his coffin during his wake in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Emelyn Torres leans over the casket of her brother, Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being detained on accusations of treason, during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Emelyn Torres and Maria Cristina Fernandez, the sister and grandmother of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison after being detained on accusations of treason, embrace during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)