F1
McLaren Faces Crucial Team Orders Dilemma as Toto Wolff Weighs In on Lando Norris’ Championship Bid
Toto Wolff suggests McLaren prioritize Lando Norris through team orders
Mercedes chief comments on McLaren's team orders discussion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has indicated that McLaren may need to make a tough decision about enforcing team orders as the F1 championship battle nears its end.
McLaren seemed to have an ideal chance to take advantage of Max Verstappen from Red Bull's underwhelming weekend by securing the top two spots on the starting grid for the Italian Grand Prix. However, the pole position holder, Lando Norris, dropped from first to third place during the initial lap following a tussle with his teammate, Oscar Piastri.
Piastri overtook his teammate with a bold maneuver on the outside of the Della Roggia chicane, and then Norris conceded another spot to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the next turn.
Norris secured a third-place finish, trailing Piastri and Leclerc, and managed to reduce Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship to 62 points with eight races left, as the Dutchman ended up in sixth place.
When questioned whether he was taken aback by McLaren's decision to let their drivers compete, Wolff remarked, "As a team that's suddenly contending at the forefront, you're in a tough position. On one hand, they are racers just like we are."
"We aim to ensure that the most deserving individual succeeds. However, when this begins to cause problems and negatively affect the team's performance, what steps should be taken in response?"
The team frequently ends up losing because implementing fixed positions and team orders goes against the essence of racing, even though it's the logical approach.
"You don’t want to miss out on a championship because of a few points you could have easily gained. Balancing this is very challenging, and there’s no one right way to do it."
Wolff suggested that McLaren’s team leader, Andrea Stella, might need to reconsider their ‘Papaya Rules’ and adopt a strategy that differs from his current “racers' soul” method.
"No one understands sports better than Andrea Stella and Zak Brown," Wolff commented. "Andrea has witnessed everything unfold firsthand several times at Ferrari."
"He possesses the spirit of a true racer, one who prefers not to interfere and wants to let the competitors race freely. However, I believe they will reach a decision on how to manage this situation after the race concludes."
“This was the point at which we began implementing guidelines for how drivers should interact, and later we altered the term to ‘racing intent’ because the word ‘rules’ seemed too strict for the drivers.”
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