There is little doubt that McLaren is now the favorite to win the constructors’ championship in 2024. However, the same can’t be said about the drivers’ championship as Lando Norris is still 62 points behind Max Verstappen and McLaren is unwilling to implement team orders to help him close that gap.
This was evident from the fact that Oscar Piastri made an aggressive move on Norris on the opening lap to take the lead. Despite the Briton having the opportunity to cut down Verstappen’s lead significantly, McLaren let their drivers race freely, much to the detriment of Norris’ title challenge.
Papaya rules
And Oscar was in no mood to wait around #F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/6wnNtYF7QV
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 1, 2024
After the Italian GP drama between the McLaren duo, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has advised Andrea Stella on why the Woking outfit should consider deploying team orders to help Norris.
According to The Telegraph, Wolff said after the race, “We want to make sure that the best man wins but on the other side when it starts to become dysfunctional and impact your team’s performance then how do you react to that?”
“At the end, you don’t want to lose out on a championship by three or five points that you could have easily made.”, he added.
Wolff has managed such tightrope situations at Mercedes between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. As that driver duo battled a lot more intensely, the Austrian boss had to often intervene and enforce the rules of engagement between them on track to avoid losing points as a team.
Wolff also acknowledged that it is difficult to ask one of the drivers to hold back for the other’s benefit. However, he stated that for the greater good of the team’s ambition to win the championship, F1 teams often have to take the tough call of team orders.
And McLaren needs to understand this quickly for their drivers’ championship ambition. With only eight races left, it is a steep task for them.
McLaren is running itself out of the contention for drivers’ championship
Because McLaren allowed Norris and Piastri to race in Monza, the latter could only reduce Verstappen’s championship lead by eight points. Starting on pole, he could have won the race and got a 17 to 18-point swing in his favor.
However, the Woking outfit’s reluctance to prioritize Norris over Piastri and their strategic fumbles worsened the situation. McLaren went for a two-stop strategy in Monza while Ferrari stuck it out on the one-stopper to stun them and take the win. While the strategic mistake happened later, had they convinced Piastri to not attack Norris on the opening lap, it could have been a completely different race.
The Hungarian GP team orders’ mess will also hurt them later in the season concerning Norris’ championship hopes. The subjectivity of the situation with Piastri’s maiden win aside, Norris lost seven crucial points in Budapest. McLaren can still technically contend for both the championships but if they continue to let their drivers race, they might have to settle with just the constructors’ title.
