Lando Norris has said he does not expect to be handed victories by his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, and would not want to win a Formula One world championship that way, after the team confirmed they would give the British driver priority in his attempt to catch Max Verstappen and claim his first title.
Norris trails Red Bull’s Verstappen by 62 points with eight rounds remaining and at this point is the Dutchman’s only realistic rival. Until now McLaren have steadfastly refused to impose team orders on their drivers in Norris’s favour. However, this week the team principal, Andrea Stella, confirmed the team would “bias our support to Lando”, although he maintained they would not compromise their principles of sportsmanship.
Speaking before this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Norris made it clear that those principles, as discussed between both drivers and the team, would not include Piastri giving up race wins. When asked if the Australian was expected to cede the lead of a race Norris’s reply was straightforward.
“No,” the 24-year-old said. “I don’t want to be given a championship. Yes, it would be nice to have a championship and short term it would feel amazing. I don’t think you would be proud of that in the long run.
“That is not how I want to win it, I want to win it by fighting Max, beating Max and my competitors, and being the best driver on track.”
The team orders issue came to a head at the last round in Monza. Norris had started from pole with Piastri in second but the Australian made an opportunistic pass on the opening lap and in the process Norris also lost a place to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who went on to win, with Piastri second and Norris third, as McLaren opted not to switch their drivers before the flag to maximise Norris’s points.
With Verstappen finishing sixth the team acknowledged afterwards that Norris was in with a genuine shot at the title and they were going to review their position on orders.
In Baku, Norris elaborated on how they would probably be applied going forward. “Second and third would probably be switched around,” he said. “In general he will be helping me, probably for lower positions. But if he has fought for a win and is deserving of a win, then he deserves to win.”
He also insisted the team were still treating their drivers equally rather than designating one the lead. “We are not classing it as number one and two and I don’t think we ever will,” he said. “But in terms of our process there is a bias towards helping me.”
The 23-year-old Piastri, who is in only his second season in F1 but took his debut win at Hungary earlier this year, said he had accepted the team’s position and would play his part as required.
“Selfishly as a driver I have my own interests and team orders are not that fun, but in saying that I realise there is a big, bigger picture here than just myself,” he said. “It’s not just about me and I am happy to play a supporting role at this point of the season.
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“It still needs some more discussion but the main point is it’s not me going to be pulling over for Lando every single race because none of us, including Lando, wants to go racing in that way.”
Maximising points for both drivers will remain McLaren’s foremost objective, however. They trail Red Bull by only eight points in the constructors’ championship, a deficit that could be overturned this weekend as they attempt to secure their first team title since 1998.
