Even though Lando Norris has closed the gap to 70 points behind Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, McLaren will not give priority to the Briton, preferring to focus on the constructors’ title.
If the team had not asked leader Norris to hand over victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix to his team-mate Oscar Piastri, the gap in the drivers’ standings would be just 63 points with nine Grands Prix and three Sprints remaining.
The Woking management instead wants to focus its efforts on the world constructors’ crown which now seems within reach with just 30 points behind Red Bull Racing.
The decision was therefore taken not to designate a number 1 driver and to allow everyone the possibility of scoring as many points as possible without having to take into account the position of their teammate, except in exceptional circumstances.
Equity and respect
“We had conversations about the instructions from the first race, because we always want to approach each Grand Prix with a clear understanding of how we are going to manage the internal competition between the two drivers, says team principal Andrea Stella. LSo conversations about team orders happen throughout the season and that has to be in the context of the league standings.”
“In general, our approach is to be fair, to be equitable in the way we run,
he believes. In Budapest, Lando had taken advantage of our strategy to get ahead of Oscar, which is why we asked him to reverse positions, mBut Oscar is part of the team and we have to respect his performance because he deserved to win his first F1 victory.”
Mutual agreement
“To deprive him of it would have made no sense and it would have deteriorated the internal atmosphere, but we are in the same boat,
he emphasizes. You can’t have a team with one leader and the other rider following the team in spite of himself. That second rider needs to be part of the conversation and agree with what we think is the way forward.”
“Now, if we find ourselves at the end of the season in a scenario where Lando could still aim for the title provided he has Oscar’s help, I’m sure Oscar will understand the
situation, he concludes. The important thing is to preserve the balance between them and the interests of the team. Everything in its own time.”
