Ahead of the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the BBC announced that the McLaren Formula 1 Team had decided to prioritise Lando Norris, currently second in the Drivers’ Championship, over his team-mate Oscar Piastri, currently fourth, in their bid to win both the Drivers’ and Constructor’s Championship.
This decision comes after the team was heavily criticised for their refusal to impose team orders during the 2024 Italian Grand Prix. Despite Norris starting from pole position, a risky overtake by Piastri on the first lap, saw him lose position to both Piastri and Leclerc. Leclerc went on to win the race, ahead of Piastri who finished second and Norris who finished third.
Despite Norris’ third-place finish further reducing the points gap between himself and championship leader, Max Verstappen of Red Bull to 62 points, further improving Norris’ chances to take the title at the end of the season, Piastri’s early overtake on Norris was blamed for costing Norris a potential win which would have allowed him to reduce the gap even further, and McLaren was criticised for having not imposed the necessary orders to protect Norris’ lead, with fans and experts alike questioning whether McLaren was committed to the title fight in the Drivers’ Championship.
In an interview with the BBC, McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella, expressed that the Woking-based team was “incredibly determined to win” but wanted to “win the right way” by remaining true to their principles of sportsmanship and fairness, even as they prioritised Norris and his title fight with Verstappen over Piastri.
“The overall concept is we are incredibly determined to win, but we want to win in the right way.
“We [will] bias our support to Lando but we want to do it without too much compromise on our principles.
“Our principles are that the team interest always comes first. Sportsmanship for us is important in the overall way we go racing. And then we want to be fair to both drivers.”
Stell expressed that the decision to prioritise Norris has come following the events at Monza, with the team not wanting to lose positions as a result of their drivers’ actions against each other. This, he identified, went against the interest of the team, and had highlighted the need for the team to impose measures to prevent any recurrence in future races.
“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. Because that is a detriment to the team.
“The team interests comes 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.”
The McLaren boss identified three objectives that the team had set to define their racing at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to maximise their performance. These objectives, he added, would be updated ahead of other races as necessary.
“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.”
Stella assured that conversations had been had with both drivers and described the conversations as having been “collaborative” with Piastri having agreed on the “painful” necessity of sacrificing his points, when required, to assist Norris’ championship fight.
“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’.”
Stella added, “Every driver is hard-wired to go for a victory. So I am always very impressed by the level of team spirit and maturity and collaboration that we found in this period.”
The McLaren boss also emphasised that while the team would prioritise Norris where appropriate, the driver himself had accepted that the team would not be “systematically” adjusting the races in his favour and had expressed the desire to earn his victory on track by his own merit.
“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.”
Stella added: “If I ask Lando, he would say: ‘I am comfortable if in Abu Dhabi [at the end of the season] 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’.”
Despite the focus on the drivers’ performances, and especially on Norris’ title fight with Verstappen, Stella emphasised that it was important that the team did not “lose sight” of the constructor’s championship, which he described as being “at least a three-headed quest” between current championship leaders Red Bull, McLaren, and third-place Ferrari.
“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.”
He added that the changed approach from McLaren in their fight towards both championship titles was distinct from the team’s so-called “papaya rules” – a phrase used by Norris’ engineer Will Joseph over the team radio during the Italian Grand Prix. This phrase had caused much confusion among commentators and fans alike but has since been confirmed as a means of instructing the drivers to minimise their risk-taking with each other during the race.
“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’.”
While speaking ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lando Norris reiterated his boss’ claim that Piastri would continue “fighting for his own racing” but would agree to assist Norris’ race when asked.
“I mean, he’s still fighting for his own racing, he’s still going at it though. And it could be that there’s no time this year that he needs to help.
“So it’s more that I’ve got Oscar to help when need be, but he’s still going out with the intent of every session to fight for himself and to do his job.”
Norris expressed that while Piastri would be fighting to maximise his own success, he would concede the win if required. He added that he expected that Piastri would typically be helping from lower positions but added that if Piastri had fought for a win, he would deserve it, even at Norris’ expense.
“In general, probably for lower positions, but if he’s fought for a win and he’s deserving of a win, then he deserves a position.”
When asked if the team had decided how to address such situations where Piastri was deserving of his position, Norris stated that the team had not but expressed that the team had previously addressed matters that had arisen within itself without giving any public statement.
“No, because we’ve had decisions before, and we’ve had things that we’ve run into and we’ve just not publicly said it. So, it’s more that we’ve just told him what he wanted to hear and not leave it to anything else.”
He added that he and Piastri had always worked well as a team but acknowledged that the recent internal decisions had added some more structure to their professional relationship, particularly within the context of the races and the championship fight.
“But we’ve always worked well as a team. We’ve always worked as a team.
“I think now there’s a bit more of a structure to it and an understanding that we have internally on what positions will change or what scenarios will change and how we can help one another, how he can help me.
“It’s not like it’s in the beginning where he goes out every session now and that’s his only job. If he goes out and he’s better than me, he performs better than me, qualifies better than me and he wins a race, that’s because he’s done a better job here.”
He reiterated that while he and Piastri worked well together, it was in a driver’s nature to want to fight for himself, and as such, their conversations with the team had focused on identifying their need to make necessary compromises with each other.
“No, we worked very well together. I think as drivers you always want to fight for yourself so there’s always going to be things which I’ll advise on my side and he’s going to advise on his side. But everything we’ve done is [to] come together as compromisers for one another.
“We have our own principles; we have our own way of working. Given the outcome, nothing will go unnoticed from what he might do.”
When asked whether the team’s recent decisions had come too late, the British driver expressed that he did not think that it had, adding that he was “happy” with the way things were.
“No, I’m happy.”
He reiterated that there had been a strong partnership between himself and Piastri, and expressed that while the public was entitled to their opinions, they were unaware of the team’s internal workings, and of decisions and guidelines implemented by the team which had not been compromised.
“Like I said, there’s been plenty of things we’ve done through the last few years where he’s helped me, and I’ve helped him, and we’ve already done decisions but it’s just not been public.
“People can always say what they want and come up with what they want but we know how we work; we have good guidelines and a good structure of what we work to. But that’s their opinion and they can come up with what they want.”
Norris also agreed with his team principal’s earlier claim that he did not want to be “given” the championship, and would be comfortable, albeit disappointed, if he lost the championship as a result of deficits in his own performance.
“Yeah, I’m sure it will hurt,” Norris admitted, “But I don’t know. I’m also here to race if the driver is doing better than me and I’m performing… it’s because they’re doing a better job.
“I also don’t want to be given a championship.
“Yes, it would be great to have a championship and short term you’d feel amazing, but I don’t think you’d be proud of that in the long run. And that’s not something I want. That’s not how I want to win a championship.”
“I want to win it by fighting against Max, by beating Max, beating my competitors and proving that I’m the best on the track and that’s how I want to win.”
The driver also discussed the role that “papaya rules” would play going forward, especially as it was expected that Norris and Piastri would continue qualifying close to each other over the remaining races of the season. Norris stated that “papaya rules” had been in play for years and was simply a reminder to be respectful of one’s teammate while on track.
“Yeah, but we’ve asked many times when you’ve come close, and the papaya rules have been… we’ve had papaya rules for years.
“Again, just because you’re here a few times now, you think it’s something that’s just started now, it’s started… We’ve just classed it as the papaya rules.”
“Andrea [Stella] likes to come up with different names for different things but that’s just rule number one as a teammate, you know, between you and your teammates.”
“And clearly, it’s not going to work for other people and other teams in the past, but we want to make sure that they’re between us and that’s what we’re going to do.
When asked if he and Piastri were still allowed to battle each other, as they had in Monza, Norris said that they were as both drivers needed to go into the first lap with the aim “to attack” and “to try and go forward” as this was “the right approach” to racing. However, he added that there would be times when a first-lap battle was not appropriate, such as when a driver approached the race intending to battle on the first lap.
“Yes, because I think there’ll be certain times when it’s just not smart to battle them. I think if you go into a lap one and that’s on your mind, that’s the wrong approach. I think you both have to go into lap one with the right approach, which is to attack and to try and go forward. As soon as you start thinking a lot of things, that’s when it starts to go wrong.”
He expressed that the incident at Monza had been a “slightly different case” but claimed that the team had reflected on the matter and resolved it. He added that the team were trying to avoid such incidents going forward.
“I think Monza was a slightly different case. We look back at that and we’ve resolved that. From now on we’re still fighting for each other but from that point on we’re trying to avoid it.”
With Norris having expressed that the team had decided to avoid changing the approach to the first lap, and with them remaining reluctant to sacrifice Piastri’s deserved performances to ensure a more favourable result for Norris, the McLaren driver was asked to describe the specific change that had been made after the Italian Grand Prix.
Norris replied, “I mean, although that’s between us, but same as Monza, that second and third would have been swapped around.”
He was then asked about Piastri’s first-lap overtake and whether the team had found it acceptable, Norris stated that the matter had been “clarified and cleared up” but added that it had not been an ideal point for either him or the team. He stated that the team had now given clearer instructions on how he and Piastri could race each other going forward.
“I think things have just been clarified and cleared up.”
“I think the main thing is we came out of turn one. Turn four, [we were] first and third, and we had the biggest gap in the world getting into the corner.
“So, I think from… let’s say, not an ideal point in my world, but also a point for us as a team. So, we shouldn’t have been racing then. So, there are clear instructions of how we can race each other and how we can race for one another.”
Separately, Norris’ teammate, Oscar Piastri was asked whether he was happy with the team’s decision to utilise team orders going forward. Piastri stated that the matter had been discussed quite significantly over the recent days but acknowledged that while he disliked having team orders imposed on him, he realised that there was the need to focus on the “much bigger picture” in terms of the team performance, especially as he was grateful for the role that McLaren had played in building his career.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s obviously something that’s been discussed a lot in the last few days.
“You know, of course, selfishly as a driver, in my own interest, of course, team orders are not that fun. But in saying that, I realise that there’s a much bigger picture here than just myself.”
“So, you know, I race for a team that’s given me my opportunity at one, and a team that has given me the opportunity to win races in Formula 1, and within 18 months of being here. So I have a lot of gratitude for that.”
“And, again, the bigger picture of this is about much more than just me. And we’re trying to achieve both championships, which for the team is an incredibly big thing, also incredible for one thing. But if you have the opportunity to win both championships in the year, then as a team, of course, it’s a massive objective to try and achieve both.”
Piastri added that while he would have preferred not to have team orders, for selfish reasons, he was aware of the team’s need for him to play a supporting role to his teammate in future races and indicated that he would be happy to do so, as the timing was appropriate given the team’s circumstances.
“So, of course, being selfish, I would prefer to not have it. But, you know, I’m very aware that it’s not just about me, and I’m happy to play a supporting role at this point in the season.”
“I mean, earlier in the season it would have been probably excessive. But now it’s an appropriate time to try and help the team win both championships.”
However, when asked about his stance on his team principal’s statement that he would be willing to sacrifice a win for Norris, and his teammate’s contradicting opinion that he would not be asked to do so in the event of a 1-2, Piastri stated that the matter was still being discussed. He did however express that, from his view, the main point of the matter was not that he would give up his position to Norris in every race.
“It still needs some more discussion. But I think the main point is it’s not purely just going to be me pulling over for Lando every single race. Because that’s how none of us, including Lando, want to go racing.”
He added that the matter was not one that the team wished to discuss publicly but stated that it was not the team’s intention to withhold deserved rewards from their drivers.
“Trying to go through all the scenarios is impossible. And, of course, we don’t want to discuss that publicly.”
“But there are… I think the main one is if we feel that someone has done a much better job on a weekend, whichever way it is, we want that person to be rewarded.”
The Australian claimed that the team’s decision was not a “blanket” one which would be applied to all races as he still had his own objectives to achieve in the Drivers’ Championship. He did, however, re-emphasise the team’s desire to win the Constructor’s Championship, and stated that to do so would require that he and Norris maintain trust between them.
And that’s where it, of course, becomes a little bit tricky still. And we need to continue discussing that but it’s not simply a blanket, you know, I’m going to be behind Lando in every single race, in every decision that’s ever taken from here on out, because I still have things that I want to achieve in the championship. I’m trying to push my standing in the Drivers’ Championship.”
“Of course, as a team, we’re not winning the Constructors Championship, so we need to make sure that we win that, of course, so it’s very important that we maintain that kind of trust.”
Piastri was also asked about his team principal’s previous claim that he was “the future of this team” and that assisting Norris’ title fight would be an investment in the team. The Australian acknowledged that it was “a big ask” but reiterated his gratitude to the team for having given him the opportunities that they had.
“Yeah, it is a big ask. But I think, again, going back to what I said, you know, [they] have given me a massive opportunity [unintelligible].”
He added that he believed that his cooperation would not be forgotten in the future and expressed that the same discussions would have been had if he been in Norris’ position.
“And, you know, it’s not something that won’t be forgotten in the future.”
“So, I know that if it was the other way around, then we would be having exactly the same discussions about Driver A or Driver B.
“So, I think, for me, knowing that it will be remembered in the future and that things in the past, whether it be with upgrades or strategies and races, that will always be remembered in the future. So that’s kind of our way of going.”
When asked whether the implementation of team orders would be carried over into the next season, Piastri indicated that the matter had been discussed, but reiterated that had his and Norris’ positions been switched, he would have received the more favourable decisions. However, he again expressed that the situation was not an easy one for any party involved as drivers typically wished to win on their own merit.
“It’s something that we have discussed, yes. And, like I said, if it was me in this scenario, then we would be having exactly the same discussions. But, of course, for both sides, it’s never easy because, as a driver, you always want to win on merit and because you’ve had a better job in the day, not because of having assistance.”
He added that, ultimately, the team’s priority was to maximise the performance in the championships, and that a driver would accept needed assistance to secure the championship if it was necessary.
“Of course, if it’s the difference of winning the World Championship or not, you would take the assistance, but I think the belief and the thinking for all of us in the team is that we want to try and do everything, as much as possible, on merit with some help.”
When asked whether the events of the 2024 season had encouraged him to develop a more competitive mindset for the 2025 season to take the lead in the championship ahead of his teammate, Piastri replied, “Not necessarily.”
He explained, “I mean, naturally, if you put yourself higher in the standings, then everything you’re able to put forward is the same as with everything in life, if you do a better job, naturally more things are going to come your way. If you drive faster, you’re going to win more races.”
He added that while it was natural to want to outperform his teammate in the new season, he did not feel any pressure to do so, as while he had been supporting his teammate, he had received the necessary support from Norris and the team when it was required. However, he expressed his desire to try to maximise his success in Formula 1 as much as possible by doing his best.
“So, it’s just natural to go that way. I certainly don’t feel any pressure to need to do that.
“I’ve been supporting the team and Lando in different ways through the first part of the year, and likewise I’ve received support in some occasions as well.
“So, there’s not necessarily pressure to try and remove the situation next year, but of course, for my own sake, I want to try and win as many races and as many championships as possible, and naturally that comes with trying to do your best.”
Piastri was also whether his manager Mark Webber, a former Formula 1 driver, had given him any advice on with matters involving team orders. While Piastri acknowledged that Webber had been involved in the discussions between Piastri and McLaren, he stated that Webber had not given him any direct advice, as matters involving team orders and team disputes were typically specific to the team and drivers involved.
“He’s been very much involved in the discussions with myself and the team, of course.
“I think some of the team orders and team disputes have been a very, very different set of circumstances than what we have. So, there’s not been any direct advice on, you know, this is what happened last time, blah, blah, blah. It’s always been about trying to work collaboratively with the team on what we are willing to do in support, what we’re not willing to do so much, and more that kind of guidance rather than, yes, those kind of support challenges.”
The 23-year-old also addressed the incident between himself and Norris during Lap 1 at the Italian Grand Prix. Despite having received significant backlash for his risky overtake on his teammate, Piastri defended his decision to overtake, as given the circumstances, he had believed it to be the best move.
However, he admitted that the consequences of his overtake had not been ideal for the team and stated that he and Norris would need to cooperate to ensure that they did not experience such an outcome again.
“Yes, in those circumstances, it was fine. I thought it was the best we could do. And of course, the consequence of coming out of a corner first and third is not what we want as a team and of course, it takes both our cooperation to make sure that result doesn’t happen again.
“But in those circumstances, it was all by book and there was nothing wrong with that. It was purely just that the result out of that corner was not exactly what we wanted.”
Piastri also added that he did not believe that the outcome of the race had been dictated by his overtake on Norris, expressing that had Ferrari not gambled on their tyre strategy as they had, McLaren would have still ended the race in first and second position.
“In saying that, you know, the results at the end of the race, in my opinion, weren’t dictated because of that. It was because Ferrari put up a big gamble on strategy. And without that with Charles, we would have still finished first and second. So yes, we’ve had some adjustments for that, but yeah, at the time, it was very much what we see.
When asked if he would race as he had, knowing the outcome of the race, Piastri admitted, “In those exact same scenarios, some things would be different.”
The Australian was also asked whether the events at Monza and the recent discussions at McLaren would change how he approached the first lap of the upcoming races, especially at times when he started near his teammate.
Piastri acknowledged that this had been a point of discussion but agreed with his teammate’s earlier claim that the incident in Monza had been a specific scenario and not one that was guaranteed to occur at each race.
“Yeah, and like these are all things that we’ve discussed. Monza was, let’s say, a pretty specific scenario where we did have a decent gap to the current third. And, you know, just being honest, there was not that many ways we could have done it to not be first and second. And we did.”
He reiterated that there had been no blanket rule imposed preventing him from challenging his teammate for points but acknowledged that such challenges would need to be done within the scope of the “papaya rules” or the team’s philosophy to respect each other on track and to avoid accidents between teammates.
“So of course, there are discussions we’ve spoken about, but it’s certainly not a blanket rule of I can’t attack Lando, I can’t overtake Lando.
“Of course, our way of racing always has been to look after each other, which is basically what the high rules are, to look after each other and not crash into each other. So that is still exactly the same.”
He added that in other scenarios, both drivers would need to use their instincts and play each scenario as it came to them. Due to this, Piastri said, it was unlikely that he and Norris would be in the exact situation that they had been in at Monza at some other race during the season.
“And yeah, in different scenarios where there are other cars around, of course, you need to use your instinct. It’s not as simple as just wait for one car to do one thing or whatever. You have to play it how it comes to you at the time.
“So that’s where it’s, yeah, of course, not that easy to just say in this scenario again, because the likelihood of having that exact scenario again is probably less than 0.1%.”
