McLaren launches team orders
McLaren is preparing to change its management philosophy for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. With eight races to go in the F1 World Championship, the team principal Andrea Star he sensed the possibility not only of attacking the constructors’ title, but also of seriously undermine Max Verstappen’s leadership in the drivers’ standings. To do so, however, it will be necessary to start issuing team orders that can reward Norris’ ambitions, starting from the next Azerbaijan GP in Baku. And without denying the now infamous ‘Papaya rules’ that indirectly favored the unpleasant situation on the first lap of Monza, the Italian engineer has cashed in the availability of both pilots to cooperate more effectively.
Piastri’s OK
“Conversations with Piastri and Norris on the subject – said Andrea Stella, interviewed by BBC Sports – they were very positive. Even when I asked Oscar ‘would you be willing to give up a victory?‘, he replied to me: ‘It would be painful, but if it’s the right thing to do then I’ll do it.‘. All the riders have a strong connection with the idea of winning, so I was very impressed by the level of team spirit but also maturity and collaboration that I found in this period.”.
Norris wants to win on the track
Team orders that would obviously benefit Norris, the closest to Verstappen in the general standings even though he is 62 points behind. Stella has however clarified that there will not be an extremization of the team orders in favor of the young English talent: “Lando wants to win, but only if he deserves the success based on what he has shown on the track. He would be fine with being occasionally supported by his teammate, but he doesn’t want there to be a systematic adjustment to the race result that could take away Oscar’s deserved points. That wouldn’t be the way McLaren wants to win, nor the way Lando wants to win.”
Keep an eye on the Constructors’ title
“If I asked Lando – Stella then concluded – I’m sure he would be calm if, in Abu Dhabi, he were to lose by a few points that he could have obtained with some unfair intervention by the team (towards Piastri, ed.). I think he would tell me: ‘You know what? We are strong as a team, we are stable and cohesive and we will try again next year.‘. We must be careful not to lose sight of the fact that, while the focus of the conversation and attention is on the drivers, there are at least three teams fighting for the constructors’ championship.”.
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