McLaren adopt team orders but Lando Norris doesn't want to be gifted F1 world title

09/12/2024 12:54 PM

McLaren are getting serious about fighting for the drivers' championship. The team, who have not won it since 2008 or the constructors' title since 1998, have finally come to the realisation that to beat Red Bull and dethrone Max Verstappen this year they need to get behind one driver, and that driver is Lando Norris.

Oscar Piastri, who is only in his second season of F1, has now agreed to play No.2 to Norris when necessary. With six campaigns under his belt and two wins to the Australian's one, the Briton is the obvious choice to lead the assault. Whether the Woking squad live to regret allowing the pair to race until this point remains to be seen, with Piastri taking points off Norris in Hungary and Italy.

The latter is 62 points adrift of Max with eight rounds to go. That is a mighty challenge, whereas McLaren's momentum could easily see the eight points between them and reigning champions Red Bull in the constructors' race fully eroded this weekend in Azerbaijan. Game on.

Piastri attacked Norris on the opening lap at Monza last time out, and this eventually led to McLaren losing the race to Ferrari. Having reviewed the data, team principal Andrea Stella has made a call he probably should have made before returning from the summer break.

'We [will] bias our support to Lando but we want to do it without too much compromise on our principles,' he told the BBC. 'Sportsmanship for us is important and we want to be fair with both drivers.'

These are not principles Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes share, which is why they have dominated grand-prix racing this century.

Stella, who joined from Ferrari in 2015, says the discussions with the drivers have been 'very collaborative,' and explained: 'When I said to Oscar "would you be [willing] to give up a victory?", he said "it's painful, but if it's the right thing to do now, I'll do it".'

Some wiggle room there. It's understood this order will apply on a race-by-race basis, so if Norris has a stinker of a race this weekend, Piastri may be freed from his shackles.

For his part, Norris insists he does not want his team-mate to give up any wins the Aussie merits.

He said: 'In general, [I expect him to wave me past] probably for the lower positions. If he's deserving of a win, then he deserves to win.'

This is not a sentiment you will hear from Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, or any of the multiple world champions before them, and does beg the question of whether the Bristolian is too nice to lift the crown. 'If a driver is doing better than me, I need to do a better job,' Norris added.

'I wouldn't want to take [a victory] away from someone. I also don't want to be given a championship. In the short term you'd feel amazing, but I don't think you'd be proud of that in the long run.'

One wonders how he would have felt had he been in Verstappen's position at Abu Dhabi in 2021.

'That's not how I want to win a championship,' he said. 'I want to win it by beating Max and proving that I'm the best. That's how I want to win.'

Piastri insists he is happy with the agreement, saying: 'It still needs some more discussion (about changing places) but the main point is it's not me going to be pulling over for Lando every single race because none of us, including Lando, wants to go racing that way. Selfishly as a driver I have my own interests and team orders are not that fun. But in saying that I realise there is a bigger picture here.'

Newey-buoyed Aston Martin fancy a Krack at Max

Having signed the sport's best designer in Adrian Newey, Aston Martin are not underdogs any more. Team principal Mike Krack was grinning from ear to ear when he met the media in Baku on Thursday.

'It's difficult to stop smiling. It's fantastic news for us as a team,' he said. 'It was a very badly kept secret but when the news was communicated internally it was just mega to see 800 people cheering. When you appoint Adrian Newey it's proof the project is credible.'

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will be the first drivers to benefit from Newey's input but Krack's eyes are on a bigger prize: Verstappen.

'The door for Max Verstappen is always open,' he said. '[Newey] opens a lot of doors for the future.'

Those overtures may not fall on deaf ears with Max saying of a future link-up with Newey: 'That is something maybe for the future that I think about, but not now.

“I always said I would have loved him to stay [at Red Bull] but you cannot overturn these things. I am just excited for people seeking new challenges.

‘I know Lawrence [Stroll, Aston Martin owner] is pushing flat out to make it a success at Aston Martin.’

Bearman gets a fresh chance to impress

There will be two new starters on the grid in Azerbaijan. Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto has replaced the underperforming Logan Sargeant at Williams.

The other fresh face is not entirely new: Ollie Bearman, 19 from Essex, subbed for Carlos Sainz brilliantly in Jeddah in March while the Ferrari driver was having his appendix removed.

Another seventh-place finish in a Haas could be a tall order this weekend; he's filling in for Kevin Magnussen because the Dane earned a race ban for too many penalty points.

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