by McLaren changes racing philosophy as Lando Norris attempts to catch Max Verstappen for Formula 1 title.
McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella told the BBC that the team would start to make Norris’ success the priority for the rest of the season. McLaren has let Norris and Oscar Piastri race for most of the season so far, despite providing the most significant example of team orders of the season.
In the drivers’ standings, Verstappen leads with 303 points. Norris is second with 241 points and has been quicker than Verstappen since the start of the summer.
“Even when I asked Oscar, ‘Would you be willing to give up a victory?’ he said, ‘It hurts, but if it’s the right thing to do now, I’ll do it.'”
“Every driver is programmed to aim for victory, so I am still very impressed with the level of team spirit, maturity and collaboration that we have found during this period.”
McLaren occupied the front row in the last race at Monza, with Norris starting ahead of Piastri. The two drivers clashed early on the first lap and Piastri snuck into the lead. Piastri then finished second behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc thanks to a one-stop strategy and Norris was third.
Earlier this season, Piastri took his first career win at the Hungarian Grand Prix when McLaren asked Norris to pull over for Piastri. The Australian led for much of the race, but Norris’ final-stop strategy allowed him to take the lead during the final set of stops. McLaren demanded that Norris pull over for Piastri, which he did in the closing laps.
If McLaren had let Norris lead in Hungary, he would have scored 248 points and would be 55 points behind Verstappen. The total would be 52 if they had asked Piastri to let Norris pass at Monza as well.
Team orders are sometimes a difficult reality to follow in Formula 1, even if they are not fun to watch unless you are a fan of the driver who benefits from them. But this decision is the right strategic option for McLaren at the moment.
Norris is catching Verstappen in the standings and needs all the help he can get. Verstappen has not won since June 23 in Spain and is in the midst of a six-race winless streak. Norris has never finished lower than fifth in the last five races and has four podiums in that span.
Since his last-place finish in Austria on June 30, Norris has reduced Verstappen’s championship lead by 19 points. That figure makes the title race far from a formality, but it also doesn’t give Norris much of a chance of clinching the title.
Conversely, McLaren are the overwhelming favourites to win the constructors’ title. With Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez struggling for most of the season and Piastri keeping pace with Norris, McLaren are just eight points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ title. It is very possible, even likely, that McLaren will leave Sunday’s race in Baku leading the constructors’ standings.
