McLaren F1 boss refuses to prioritise Lando Norris as No 1 driver

McLaren boss Andrea Stella has ruled out prioritising Lando Norris as the team’s No 1 driver after the British star’s victory at the Dutch Grand Prix closed the gap on Max Verstappen to 70 points.

Norris is the defending champion’s closest competitor and won his second race in Formula 1 by 20 seconds at what is Verstappen’s home race in Zandvoort.

Oscar Piastri , Norris’ teammate, is 116 points behind Verstappen after putting together a solid run of results around his victory in Hungary in July. As such, the output of McLaren as a team is king for Stella.

"I think when it comes to these conversations about being the No 1, I don’t think that’s a good way of approaching racing,” he said, prior to the Dutch Grand Prix. “We’d rather approach racing from fairness, integrity, and then see what comes from this kind of approach.

"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. Then you gain your ranks on track.

“And if you gain your ranks on track by being fast, by being competitive, then we will evaluate, always led by integrity and fairness, 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, ‘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.

"We all should be in agreement because ultimately, we chase and we are in the quest for a Drivers’ 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.I don’t think it can be necessarily and simply summarised in like, we elect a No 1, 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.”

Such a decision was made during Piastri’s victory in Hungary, as Norris was asked to move aside to hand his colleague his first-ever grand prix win.

Norris didn’t immediately adhere to team orders but eventually handed Piastri the win, later suggesting he could “have done things a little bit differently” to aid the team without tension.

Piastri is clear in his goal for the season and wants to make sure the team put themselves in the best position to challenge Red Bull for the constructors’ championship, despite admitting the time might come for more selfish decisions to be agreed.

"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’ [Championship] as well,” he said.

“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.”