McLaren team boss Andrea Stella says Oscar Piastri has agreed to back Lando Norris’s bid to win the 2024 Formula 1 world championship, following the squad’s post-Monza team orders discussions.
The situation will only apply in specific circumstances and is part of McLaren’s bid to avoid the intra-team fighting that was so costly early in the last race in Italy.
Norris has been Max Verstappen’s closest rival in the 2024 standings since June’s Spanish Grand Prix, after the Dutchman had dominated the early part of the season before McLaren improved its car and a series of upgrades knocked Red Bull off course with its own challenger.
The gap between the two teams in the constructors’ is down to just eight points, with McLaren now the favourite to win that championship ahead of the final eight races.
But, despite having arguably F1’s best car for several races, which he used to win commandingly with new upgrades at the Dutch GP post-summer break, Norris has not cut Verstappen’s advantage as much as he might have done.
On two occasions this has been due to Piastri attacking at moments when both McLaren drivers had chances to win.
These were the starts of the Hungarian and Italian races, where McLaren locked out the front row both times and Piastri fought his way by to lead each race, when Norris had started on pole.
Last time out at Monza, Piastri attacking Norris at the second chicane on lap one meant his team-mate dropped behind Charles Leclerc, which eventually meant Ferrari’s one-stop strategy cost both McLarens a victory shot.
McLaren therefore left Monza vowing to review what had occurred in relation to its championship bids and now in an interview with the BBC ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan GP, Stella has revealed the results of these discussions mean McLaren is officially giving “bias” in “our support to Lando”.
“But we want to do it without too much compromise on our principles,” he added.
"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.
“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's 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.
Stella said his discussions with both drivers had been “very collaborative” and explained, "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'.”
Watch: Has McLaren Picked Lando as it's #1 F1 Driver? - Azerbaijan GP Preview
Stella continued: “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."
But Stella’s words that McLaren’s approach “will be updated after Baku” suggest the team will review whether Piastri needs to carry on supporting Norris in such a way.
Autosport understands that the new situation is on a race-by-race basis, and will only apply to certain situations in any case, with McLaren set for another review after the Baku weekend.
If, for example, Norris were to lose considerable ground to Verstappen during what is set to be a high-pressure weekend on a dramatic street track, it is understood that the team may conclude Piastri no longer needs to support his team-mate in trying to overhaul the world champion in the same way as this weekend.
The current gap between Verstappen and Norris is 62 points, with Leclerc 24 further back in third.
"After Monza, [McLaren has] three objectives: we need to make sure that anything that happens on track is not to the detriment of the team,” said Stella.
"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."
Both Piastri and Norris are set to face the media as the Azerbaijan event gets underway on Thursday.
