Team Orders Debate: Toto Wolff Urges McLaren to Prioritize Lando Norris in F1 Title Race

Toto Wolff: McLaren might want to prioritize Lando Norris with team orders

Mercedes chief shares his thoughts on McLaren's team orders discussion

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has hinted that McLaren may need to make a tough decision about using 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 for Red Bull by securing the top two spots on the Italian Grand Prix starting grid. However, pole-sitter Lando Norris dropped from first to third place on the opening 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 fell back 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 in the season, Verstappen managed to finish in sixth place.

When questioned about whether he was taken aback by McLaren letting their drivers compete against each other, Wolff responded, "I believe that for a racing team suddenly fighting at the top, it's a tough situation. On one hand, they are racers just like we are."

"We aim to ensure that the most deserving individual prevails, but when the process becomes counterproductive and starts negatively affecting the team's performance, how should one respond?"

"The team consistently finds itself at a disadvantage because when you lock in positions and implement team directives, it might conflict with our racing spirit. However, we must prioritize logical decision-making."

In the end, you don't want to miss out on winning a championship by just three or five points that you could have easily earned. Striking that balance is incredibly challenging, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach to managing it.

Wolff mentioned that McLaren's team leader, Andrea Stella, might need to reassess their 'Papaya Rules' and consider shifting from his current "racers' soul" strategy.

Toto Wolff explained that Andrea Stella and Zak Brown have an exceptional understanding of sports. He noted that Andrea has witnessed numerous developments firsthand during his time at Ferrari.

"He possesses the spirit of a true racer who’s hesitant to intervene and prefers to let them compete, but I believe they'll reach a decision after this race… what’s our approach to this situation?"

“At this point, we began implementing guidelines for engagement and later altered the terminology to 'racing intent' because the term ‘rules’ felt too strict for the drivers.”

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