Is it time for McLaren to ask Piastri to support Norris’ title fight?

McLaren’s Andrea Stella is a diplomatic man who rightly deserves praise for his role overseeing the significant improvement the team has made over the past 20 months.

Stella is a steady hand at the helm and a key factor in McLaren’s transformation. He has so far positioned himself comfortably alongside his drivers, maintaining an impressive level of harmony and diplomacy.

But as the team enters the second half of the season, there is a chance, albeit slim, of winning both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles.

Despite what Norris thinks, who said after his victory in the Dutch Grand Prix that it was “pretty stupid” to think about winning this year’s drivers’ title given Max Verstappen’s 70-point lead in the championship, the reality is that Norris is in this battle.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko said Norris’ win was “alarming” from both their team’s and Verstappen’s perspective, with the reigning world champion now going five races without a win. For the first time since winning the 2021 title, he looks vulnerable and no longer assured of a solid points tally at every race.

However, Stella is still reluctant to put all McLaren’s eggs in one basket, and is prioritising Norris’ end of season over Piastri’s.

After Norris’ win at Zandvoort, he explained his reasoning at length and with a refreshing amount of candor, saying: “We always have discussions about team orders – from race one onwards. Because you always want to go into a race with clarity about how we are going to manage the internal competition between the two drivers.

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team, The McLaren team celebrates the victory

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

“The discussions about team orders take place throughout the season, but you have to put this discussion within the context of, for example, driver classification.

“In general, we have a fair and honest approach to the way we race. I keep repeating that I don’t know any driver who wants to be number one in a contract.

“Drivers want to be number one because they are fast on the track. And if you are fast on the track, you definitely want to be supported by the team, especially if it is a 50/50 decision or if the team can help you.

“We have nine races to go, and if we create a number one driver, what do we do? All favors to the number one driver?

“This is not a healthy way to run a team. But for every race we analyse the situations, and in the 50/50 situations, or in those cases where – in this case, Lando might need some extra support from the team – we will give it. But the team includes Oscar.

“Like, the team shouldn’t do things that Oscar doesn’t think are fair. We’re in this together. You don’t go as a team and one driver and the other driver follows him, despite him.

“He needs to be part of this conversation and he needs to agree with what we think is the way forward.”

On the one hand, it is impressive to see Stella sticking to the team’s values, as McLaren has long maintained that there was no number one driver within the team.

However, I cannot help but feel that the time is now right to adjust that approach and get Piastri in line and support Norris in his quest for McLaren’s first world championship since 2008.
When asked after qualifying at Zandvoort whether he would support Norris’ attempt to beat Verstappen, Piastri smiled wryly and said: “If I can finish second, then of course it makes life a lot easier for the team. But… I mean, I’m not going to do anything specific to make that happen. I want to try to win the race myself. Let’s see what I can try to do.”

It was clear from that brief conversation that he was only focused on his own interests and that he was adhering to McLaren’s overall strategy of not favouring any specific driver.

However, we have seen this doubt before during the Hungarian Grand Prix, where the team asked Norris and Piastri to swap places in the final stages of the race, resulting in the Australian’s first victory in Formula 1.

While it was fantastic that Piastri made such a strong start, will the seven points Norris lost come back to haunt him in his battle with Verstappen later this year?

The reality is of course that we don’t know yet. But what we do know is that this position of fighting for wins and titles is a new experience for many of the staff working at McLaren and it involves learning.

Regardless of their talent, Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher all won titles thanks to the cooperation of their teammates.

Wouldn’t it make sense to deploy Piastri in that supporting role, giving Norris a better chance of beating Verstappen, who himself also seems to be disconnected from his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez?

McLaren can choose which approach they think is best, but they cannot afford to miss out on such a fantastic opportunity for a world title.

It is admirable that they maintain the status quo and continue to walk a tightrope of diplomacy, but if their drivers end up P2 and P3 in the championship at the end of the year, it is a missed opportunity.

Piastri won’t like it and it will call on Stella’s negotiating and management skills, but perhaps it’s time for him to be brought into line and support Norris’ bid to become Formula 1 world champion.