Recent discussions around Oscar Piastri have become about his role as a second driver for Lando Norris. McLaren has been stuck in a conundrum as the blessing of having two championship-worthy drivers has now become a curse. The last time a team was stuck in this situation was Mercedes, with the duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg — something that still hits a sore for the latter.
Piastri might be forced to support Norris with McLaren coming close to Red Bull in the team championship, and the Briton finally coming close to possibly winning his maiden title. However, Piastri has been allowed to play his own game so far.
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Things heated up in Monza, when Piastri’s daring move against his teammate begged the question: When will they have the difficult conversation? ‘Papaya Rules’, as they call it, has been introduced but hasn’t been enforced.
Since Nico Rosberg is well-versed in this topic, Natalie Pinkham questioned him on the Sky Sports podcast, “It must go against every fiber of your being to support your teammate, especially when you know that you’re still in with a chance.”
In reply, Rosberg said, “Sure, it’s the most horrible thing.” Reflecting on the 2016 Monaco GP, he remembers being a direct rival to Hamilton for the title and still having to obey team orders.
Once again, all he could say was, “That’s horrible. In the car, it’s horrible. It’s definitely not fun”. While it certainly doesn’t seem fun, Rosberg clarified what it means to help a driver when it comes to the matter of possibly winning a championship.
Piastri needs to find middle ground
Team orders could be as painful as letting your teammate pass or not being able to fight them. But it can also be as simple as not making things complicated for them. While Piastri’s first-lap move on Norris at Monza was gutsy and brilliant, it perhaps was not necessary. Rosberg has now explained the delicate balance McLaren needs to find.
“You know, in Lando’s situation, yeah, of course, you want to be winning races by merit and not because your teammate is helping you. But there is help and there’s… like turn four, for example, you wouldn’t necessarily see it as your teammate helping you”, he said.
Rosberg broke it down with what happened in Monza. He explained that team orders to hold positions are less about supporting a teammate and more about preventing risky moves that could jeopardize the race for both drivers. With several experts having given an assessment similar to that of Rosberg, it will be interesting to see how McLaren deal with similar situations moving forward.
