Andrea Stella reveals McLaren team orders stance as Lando Norris title tilt heats up

Andrea Stella has revealed how McLaren plans to approach the thorny subject of team orders as the prospect of a world championship looms.

With Lando Norris the lead McLaren driver, and 78 points behind Max Verstappen with 10 races to go, will the Woking-based squad instruct Oscar Piastri to help his teammate in his quest to overcome the Dutch driver?

Andrea Stella: We’ll approach races with fairness and integrity

With Verstappen relentlessly consistent in extracting the maximum potential of his Red Bull , despite his car seemingly no longer the standard-setter on the grid, Norris faces an uphill task to overcome his rival despite having an arguably quicker car for the second half of the championship.

Certainly, team orders weren’t in effect before the summer break as McLaren ended up leading with a 1-2 in Hungary with Norris leading Piastri – the ideal order for their championship prospects – but instructed a driver swap in the interest of fairness, as Piastri had only lost the lead due to the team giving Norris an earlier final stop.

This resulted in a seven-point swing for Norris, who would have been 71 points behind Verstappen had he not acquiesced to the instruction.

But will McLaren throw its weight behind Norris as the championship starts reaching its crunch point?

“I think when it comes to these conversations about being the number one, I don’t think that’s a good way of approaching racing,” McLaren team boss Andrea Stella told media, including PlanetF1.com , at Zandvoort.

“For us, we’d rather approach racing from fairness, and integrity, and then see what comes, and what sheds from this kind of approach. It’s 10 races to go.

“I think for Lando to realistically be in condition to chase the World Championship, he needs to keep performing at a very high level. He needs to keep being fast. And then you gain your ranks on track.”

Should Norris prove to be clearly ahead of Piastri on merit, Stella explained, the team might consider the option – but only by ensuring harmony on the matter.

“If you gain your ranks, if you gain your merits on track by being fast, by being competitive, then we will evaluate, always led by integrity and fairness,” he continued, “whether on some occasions we need the team to take a certain direction in a 50-50 decision, or if we want to have a conversation with Oscar and say, like, ‘Oscar, would you be available to do this to support Lando chasing the World Championship?’, but it will always have to be a conversation before the race. Nobody should be surprised.

“We all should be in agreement because, ultimately, we chase and we are in the quest for a Driver’s World Championship as a team.

“There’s nobody that goes his own way, and then the others will have to follow. So that’s our style, which is I don’t think it can be necessarily and simply summarised in like. we elect a number one, and then we work accordingly. I would like to keep this more articulated as a team, and then be more on a case-by-case situation.”

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Oscar Piastri: I’m not that far behind Lando Norris!

Piastri currently occupies fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship, a further 32 points behind Norris, and has been extracting the maximum from his car through the middle part of the season – including outdriving the British driver in the Belgian Grand Prix.

Asked whether he believes the call to start supporting Norris in the championship is something to expect in the coming weeks, Piastri said the season hasn’t yet reached that point, but he’s willing to play his part if needed.

“No. I don’t think so,” he said.

“The first target is to win the Constructors’ Championship. I think, naturally, if we’re closing the gap in the Constructors’, there’s probably a good chance that we’re both closing it in the Drivers’ as well.

“You know, I’m not that far behind Lando in the standings either. So, of course, if the call comes later in the year, and it’s a realistic shot, then I’ll do my part for the team.

“But I think, at the moment, the gap is pretty big for both of us, so we’ll focus on just trying to do the best job we can every week and see where we end up a bit later in the year.”

As for whether he believes it’s realistic to think he can beat Norris in the championship, Piastri said it’s not something he’s outright focusing on.

“Mathematically, it’s still not impossible for me to win the Drivers’ [Championship],” he said.

“Of course, I’m not naive, I know it’s going to be a mammoth task, but, I think, for me, the biggest thing is just trying to maximise every weekend that gives the team the most opportunities for the Constructors’, and gives me the most opportunities for whatever occurs in the Driver’s standings.

“Whether I finished second, third, or fourth in the Drivers’, it’s a nice thing to do, but, if it’s not winning, then I don’t think the 19 others are really that concerned.

“So I’ll just try and make sure, if there’s an opportunity to put myself in a chance to win the Driver’s standings, that I’ll try my best to make sure I’m there.”

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