Mercedes Chief Toto Wolff Urges McLaren to Implement Team Orders for Lando Norris Amid F1 Title Tension

Toto Wolff: McLaren ought to prioritize Lando Norris through team orders

Mercedes chief weighs in on McLaren's team orders discussion

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has indicated that McLaren may need to consider the challenging decision of enforcing team orders as the F1 championship battle nears its end.

McLaren seemed poised to take full advantage of Max Verstappen's disappointing weekend at the Italian Grand Prix, securing the top two spots on the grid. However, Lando Norris, who started from pole position, dropped from first to third place during the opening lap following a tussle with his teammate, Oscar Piastri.

Piastri overtook his teammate with a bold maneuver on the outer edge of the Della Roggia chicane, and shortly after, Norris was overtaken again by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the next turn.

Norris secured a third-place finish, trailing behind Piastri and Leclerc. This result reduced Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship to 62 points, with eight races still to go, after the Dutchman finished in sixth place.

"I believe that when a racing team suddenly finds itself competing at the front, they face a difficult situation. On one hand, their drivers are racers just like ours," Wolff commented when questioned about his surprise regarding McLaren's decision to let their drivers compete against each other.

"We aim to ensure that the most deserving individual succeeds, but when the situation begins to deteriorate and negatively affects the team's performance, how should one respond?"

The team often ends up losing because enforcing fixed positions and issuing team orders conflicts with our racing spirit. However, the logical approach must take precedence.

"In the end, you don't want to miss winning a championship by just three or five points that were within your grasp. Balancing this is incredibly challenging, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach to managing it."

Wolff suggested that McLaren team principal Andrea Stella might need to reconsider their ‘Papaya Rules’ and distance himself from his “racer’s soul” philosophy.

"There is no one more knowledgeable about sports than Andrea Stella and Zak Brown," Wolff remarked. "Andrea has witnessed everything unfold firsthand many times during his tenure at Ferrari."

"He possesses the competitive spirit of a racer who is reluctant to intervene and prefers to allow the competitors to race freely. However, I believe that after this race, there will be some resolution on how we are managing this situation."

"At this point, we began to implement guidelines for engagement, but we later altered the terminology to 'racing intent' because the term 'rules' seemed too strict for the drivers."

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