Team Orders Debate: Toto Wolff Urges McLaren to Prioritize Lando Norris in Championship Battle

Toto Wolff believes McLaren should implement team orders to benefit Lando Norris

The head of Mercedes weighs in on the discussion surrounding McLaren's team strategies

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.

McLaren seemed to be in an ideal position to take advantage of Max Verstappen's challenging weekend by securing the top two spots on the Italian Grand Prix starting grid. However, after some jostling with his teammate Oscar Piastri, pole-sitter Lando Norris dropped from first to third place during the opening lap.

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

Norris secured a third-place finish, trailing Piastri and Leclerc, and narrowed Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’ championship to 62 points with eight races left, as the Dutchman ended up in sixth place.

Toto Wolff commented on McLaren's decision to let their drivers compete against each other, saying, "As a team now fighting at the front, they find themselves in a tough spot. On one hand, their drivers are racers, just like we are."

"Our goal is to ensure the most deserving person succeeds, but when things start to go wrong and it affects the team's performance, how should you respond?"

The team often ends up losing because, when positions are locked in and team orders are enforced, it goes against the spirit of racing. However, the logical approach must take precedence.

"You don't want to risk losing a championship by just a few points that you could have easily secured. Balancing this is extremely challenging, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach to managing it."

Wolff suggested that McLaren team boss Andrea Stella might need to reconsider their 'Papaya Rules' and shift from his "racer's spirit" method.

"I mean, there's no one who grasps the essence of sport better than Andrea [Stella] and Zak [Brown]. Andrea has witnessed everything unfold firsthand numerous times at Ferrari," Wolff noted.

"He possesses the spirit of a true racer who is reluctant to intervene and prefers to let the competitors race freely. However, I believe a decision will be made after this race regarding how these situations should be managed."

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

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