F1
Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff Urges McLaren to Consider Team Orders for Lando Norris Amid F1 Title Chase
Toto Wolff: McLaren Should Prioritize Lando Norris with Team Orders
Mercedes Chief Weighs in on McLaren's Team Orders Discussion
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has hinted that McLaren may need to make a tough decision regarding team orders as the F1 championship battle nears its end.
It seemed like McLaren had an ideal chance to take advantage of Max Verstappen's challenging weekend with Red Bull by securing the top two positions on the grid for the Italian Grand Prix. However, Lando Norris, who started in pole position, dropped to third place on the first lap following a tussle with his teammate, Oscar Piastri.
Piastri overtook his teammate with a daring maneuver on the outside of the Della Roggia chicane. Subsequently, Norris dropped another spot to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the next turn.
Norris secured third place, trailing Piastri and Leclerc, while narrowing Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’ championship to 62 points with eight races left, as the Dutchman managed to finish only in sixth place.
Toto Wolff commented on McLaren's decision to let their drivers compete, saying, "As a team suddenly fighting at the front, you're in a tough spot. 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, how should one respond to this situation?
"The team consistently faces defeat because when you lock in positions and implement team orders, it might not align with the spirit of racing we desire. However, logic must ultimately take precedence."
"You don’t want to miss out on winning a championship by just a few points that you could have easily earned. Balancing this is extremely challenging, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer on how to do it."
Wolff suggested that McLaren's team leader, Andrea Stella, might need to reconsider their 'Papaya Rules' and shift from his current strategy that focuses on the spirit of racing.
"There is no one who grasps the intricacies of sports better than Andrea Stella and Zak Brown," Wolff commented. "Andrea has witnessed everything unfold at Ferrari numerous times," he further noted.
"He possesses the true spirit of a racer who prefers to let them compete freely, but I believe a decision will be made about the approach after this race… what’s our plan moving forward?"
At this point, we began to present the guidelines for competition, later modifying the term to 'racing intent' because the word 'rules' felt too strict for the drivers.
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