Christian Horner Criticizes McLaren’s Team Orders Confusion at Hungarian Grand Prix

Christian Horner: McLaren unnecessarily complicated their situation with team orders controversy

"They didn't have to make things so difficult, as they were already in a fairly secure position…"

Christian Horner was puzzled by McLaren's choice to bring Lando Norris into the pit before Oscar Piastri, a move that triggered the team orders controversy at the conclusion of the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix.

McLaren took control of the race at the Hungaroring, with Piastri leading Norris.

In the second series of pit stops, McLaren decided to bring Norris in before Hamilton to counter his strategy.

After two more laps, Piastri entered the pits, giving up his place on the track to his teammate.

McLaren promised him that Norris would return the position, but it wasn't until the final laps that the British driver eased up.

McLaren sent multiple communications over the team radio, instructing Norris to reduce his speed until he finally allowed Piastri to take the lead in the race.

During an interview following the race in Hungary, where Crash.net had a presence in the paddock, Horner shared his perspective on the controversy surrounding team orders at McLaren.

"They made things unnecessarily difficult for themselves. They were already in a good position but opted to bring Lando in for a pit stop two laps earlier than standard practice, which typically involves pitting the leading car first. This decision created a lot of extra work for them to sort out later in the race," he commented.

"While it's undoubtedly their concern, they might not have needed to cause that issue."

He mentioned, "There is always a clash between what the drivers want and what the team wants."

In an individual interview with Sky, Ted Kravitz mentioned the 'Multi 21' incident, a well-known controversy involving Red Bull team orders in which Sebastian Vettel ignored instructions and passed his teammate Mark Webber.

Kravitz commented to Horner, "There was no talk of multi-21 today. Lando was attempting it, trying to prove he was like Seb… not willing to back down."

Horner responded, saying, "It's a tricky situation. I couldn't figure out why they didn't allow Oscar to make the first pit stop, which led them into this predicament. They had talked about it before the race, and Lando simply followed the instructions given to him."

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