"What we don't want to see any more is a situation like in Monza," says Andrea Stella as McLaren prioritises Lando Norris' title bid.

With 8 races remaining, and Norris 62 points adrift of the world champion, as opposed to Piastri's 86 point deficit, in order to avoid situations like Monza, and to give its British driver the best chance of overhauling Max Verstappen, McLaren has reluctantly opted to institute basic team orders.

"We will bias our support to Lando," Stella told the BBC, "but we want to do it without too much compromise on our principles.

"Our principles are that the team interest always comes first," added the Italian. "Sportsmanship for us is important in the overall way we go racing. And then we want to be fair to both drivers."

Indeed, ahead of the Monza race, the team was still insisting that its two drivers were "free to race" one another, however, Piastri's move on his teammate at the second chicane, which subsequently saw the Briton drop to third appeared to catch everyone off guard.

Though both McLaren drivers joined Charles Leclerc on the podium it presented the team with a major problem especially as the question of prioritising one driver over the other had been on the radar for some time as Piastri became more established and confident within the team.

"What we don't want to see any more is a situation like in Monza in which we enter a chicane P1/P2 and we exit P1/P3," admitted Stella, who since the race has held a number of meetings with both drivers.

"Because that is a detriment to the team," he added. "The team interests come first and these are the situations that above all we need to fix because eventually, as a matter of fact, the way we entered the race in Monza left the door open this situation.

"After Monza, three objectives: we need to make sure that anything that happens on track is not to the detriment of the team. Second objective, how do we win both championships, both drivers committed to help? But what we don't want to do is win in a reckless way.

"Those are the three topics and they define the way we go racing in Baku. This will be updated after Baku."

Asked about how the drivers have reacted following the meetings, Stella said: "The conversations have been very collaborative. Even when I said to Oscar: 'Would you be available to give up a victory?' He said: 'It's painful, but if it's the right thing to do now, I will do it'.

"Every driver is hard-wired to go for a victory," the Italian continued. "So I am always very impressed by the level of team spirit and maturity and collaboration that we found in this period.

"Lando wants to win because he deserved the victory on track. It's OK to be occasionally supported by your team-mate, but you don't want to use, systematically, ways of adjusting the race just for the sake of the points when your team-mate is scoring in a way that he deserves. This is not the way McLaren want to win, or the way Lando wants to win.

"If I ask Lando, he would say: 'I am comfortable if in Abu Dhabi I miss a few points that I could have got with some actions, but if those actions were not right at the time, then, you know what? We keep strong as a team, the team is stable and cohesive, we will give it a go next year'."

Referring to the 'papaya rules' raised at Monza, Stella said: "The 'papaya rules' only have to do with racing with no risks, no contact between the two McLarens and respectfully. That's it. It's just a quick way to remind our drivers, 'Guys, don't take too much risk in fighting each other'."

The drivers' title aside, it is the Constructors' Championship that decides the prize money, and with just 8 points separating Red Bull and McLaren, Stella admits that the team must lose sight of the big prize.

"We need to be careful that while we focus the conversation and the attention on to the drivers', we don't lose sight on the fact that the constructors' is at least a three-headed quest."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Chester, 13/09/2024 1:20

"Yes, and Jerry Jones owns the Dallas Cowboys and calls the shots- and perennially gets knocked out of the playoffs early.

That piper stuff is not long term thinking. "

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2. Posted by VC10-1103, 12/09/2024 23:28

"Meatball - He who pays the piper calls the tune. McLaren supplies their cars, it’s McLarens sponsors that pay for it all and Lando and Oscar are meet employees."

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3. Posted by Superbird70, 12/09/2024 21:57

"As both a McLaren and Ferrari fan this makes things very interesting for me. The papaya cars now have a greater potential to take themselves out of both championships by catering to one driver. Ferrari may be able to take advantage and steal the constructers title. If I was a betting man, I would say LasVegas may be the turning for Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari."

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4. Posted by meatball, 12/09/2024 21:00

"What utter shite. Piastri is 4th in and (at least mathematically) has a chance of winning the WDC himself. If Norris needs his teammate to play dead in order to win, he's not champion."

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5. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 12/09/2024 19:22

"Its a tough call. On one hand, you have Norris who has shown faith and loyalty to the team in the hopes that a situation like they are in now presents itself. By investing himself like he has in the team, I think, has been done so with the promise that its paid in kind when the time is ripe. So, it is a fair thing to expect and should be a decent thing for a team to reciprocate on that.

On the other hand, Piastri is the better driver. I like Norris but the fact of the matter, its true. He has shown his senior teammate better race craft and stronger metal fortitude. If he had the same experience in the team as Norris, I think he would be dunking on him week in and week out. Considering its just his second year in the team and what he's achieved in the car that's most likely philosophically built around Norris is impressive. He is a future champion if given the chance and you really don't want to squander that talent at the risk of losing them to another team who will have no issue in fostering that in Oscar.

So I can see this as a tightrope walk for McLaren. Its a late call but, ultimately, the correct one if they want the best chance at the WDC as well. That said, Norris isn't helping the situation by tripping over his shoe laces when he needs to be at full sprint.
Norris needs to stop climbing up on his cross and bleeding out in the press pen post race when he's c*cked it up. He needs to terminator this sh*t and curb the vulnerability displays and push forward, ice cold and elbows out if he wants any chance of winning this. This is his one shot, the team have cleared the runway and Red Bull are hobbling, so good luck to him. "

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6. Posted by kenji, 12/09/2024 14:30

"@Editor et al....I'm well past the apoplectic stage. I knew that this was going to be the position that McLaren would adopt, based on stunts they've pulled earlier. This Stella guy is talking in riddles. I thought that he was okey dokey there for a while but his latest garbled response is nothing but a nonsense. "Sportsmanship for us is important in the way we go racing'. Really? He then proceeds to acknowledge a bias towards Norris and their intent to nobble Piastri's endeavours. Monza was all Norris's bottling the start. Piastri simply outraced Norris and it was Norris's bumbling that let Leclerc through!!! Time to start looking for another team Oscar. "

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7. Posted by Team Hack, 12/09/2024 12:18

"So lets say Lando wins the World Championship this year.

Do we all honestly think Mclaren will hold a world champion back and not be allowed to pass a 'No 2' in 2025 unless he has had a mechanical problem?

I don't think so."

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8. Posted by Chester, 12/09/2024 9:36

"Amen, Max Noble. Norris' poor starts will come back to haunt him. I am fully in the Oscar camp.

In being pragmatic this team, of new found riches, has thrown a grenade into the room for the long-term. "

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9. Posted by Max Noble, 12/09/2024 8:59

"@Editor - sorry I got my meds sooner ;-)

Well all the comparisons to cycle teams come in here. All those riders, but only one team lead. As Oscar has agreed to this he is thinking… (1) I simply out qualify him, and out race him, and it’s not an issue on track. (2) They owe me big next year. (3) Right, time to get my CV around the paddock.

Throughout the history of the sport we have had bitten lips, and chewed pencils over team orders… it shows no sign of stopping!

Personally I hope he simply our qualifies and out races Lando and we have nothing to worry about :-)
(The Southern PitPass cat is a big Oscar fan. Nearly as big as Ricci…)
"

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10. Posted by Editor, 12/09/2024 8:06 (moderated by an Adminstrator, 12/09/2024 9:04)

"Kenji to go apoplectic in 3, 2, 1..."

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McLaren to "bias support" to Norris

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