Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had a dramatic end to the 2024 Hungarian GP. McLaren prioritized Norris to stop earlier even though Piastri was in the lead. This resulted in Norris inheriting the lead after the final round of pit stops. However, McLaren then asked the Briton to give the position back. Unlike Red Bull, it seems that there isn’t a clear number one at McLaren. However, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has now suggested that this could change to ensure that Norris remains in the hunt for the championship.
“That’s ultimately going to be Andrea’s call. We want to get through the first half of the season, and see where we end up this weekend”, said Brown according to Autosport when asked if McLaren is planning on prioritizing Norris for the Drivers’ Championship. He further added, “That will be something I think we will discuss over the summer break.”
Lando Norris has admitted he hasn’t “felt too proud” at the way he reacted to McLaren’s F1 team orders in the Hungarian GP, labelling his decision to not let Oscar Piastri through immediately as “stupid” ❌
Should Lando have let Oscar through straight away? pic.twitter.com/oDQmYxRMgl
— Autosport (@autosport) July 25, 2024
Stella was also asked the same after Norris challenged Verstappen for the win in Imola. At the time, the McLaren team principal suggested that there still is a long way to go in the season. He said that if McLaren makes such a decision, they will make it in the latter parts of the season.
Despite them seemingly not having any number one driver, McLaren was heavily criticized for the way they handled their Hungarian GP main race. Will Buxton urged McLaren to be proactive and start making better decisions on the pit wall.
The criticisms against McLaren arose, as while the team still have a fantastic chance of beating Red Bull to the Constructors’ Championship, prioritizing Piastri over Norris may have resulted in the Briton losing a fantastic opportunity to close down the gap to Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship as well.
Verstappen seems to be the favorite to win the Drivers’ title as he seemingly receives priority from Red Bull. Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner also claimed that McLaren should have prioritized Norris in Hungary for the same reason.
Steiner slams McLaren for their Hungarian GP blunder
Verstappen leads Norris by 76 points in the championship ahead of this weekend’s race in Belgium, following which only 10 more races remain on the 2024 calendar. Given the points gap and how McLaren is performing better than Red Bull recently, Norris has a realistic chance of closing down Verstappen’s lead in the championship.
Therefore, every point matters for the Briton. Steiner discussed the same on the Red Flags podcast and explained why he believes McLaren made a blunder with their strategy in Hungary.
“Can you imagine now, if, at the end of the season, they are missing six points? Lando will not be, ‘I’m a team player, I’m very happy about this.’ He will be, ‘What the f**k have we done in Budapest’”, explained Steiner.
