F1
Team Orders Dilemma: Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff Urges McLaren to Prioritize Lando Norris in F1 Title Fight
Toto Wolff: McLaren Ought to Prioritize Lando Norris with Team Orders
Mercedes Chief Weighs in on McLaren's Internal Team Orders Discussion
Mercedes principal Toto Wolff has indicated that McLaren may need to make a tough decision regarding team orders as the Formula 1 championship nears its end.
McLaren seemed poised to take advantage of a tough weekend for Red Bull's Max Verstappen by securing the top two spots on the Italian Grand Prix grid. However, Lando Norris, who started from pole position, dropped from first to third during the opening lap following a tussle with his teammate Oscar Piastri.
Piastri overtook his teammate with a bold maneuver on the outer side of the Della Roggia chicane, and shortly after, Norris dropped another spot to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the next corner.
Norris secured a third-place finish, trailing behind Piastri and Leclerc, and reduced 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 expressed that when a racing team finds itself competing at the front, it faces a tough situation. He explained that on one hand, the team and its drivers have a racing spirit similar to their competitors. This was in response to a question about whether he was surprised by McLaren's decision to let their drivers compete against each other.
“Our goal is to ensure that the most deserving person succeeds, but when the situation becomes disruptive and negatively affects the team's effectiveness, how should you respond?”
"The team frequently ends up losing because, although enforcing fixed positions and team orders may not align with the essence of our racing spirit, it's essential for rational decision-making to take precedence."
In the end, you don't want to miss out on a championship by a small margin of three or five points that you could have easily secured. Balancing this is extremely challenging, and there's no single, definitive way to manage it.
Wolff suggested that McLaren team boss Andrea Stella might need to reconsider their ‘Papaya Rules’ and shift from his current “racer’s instinct” strategy.
"I mean, when it comes to Andrea Stella and Zak Brown, there’s no one with a better grasp of the sport than them. Andrea has experienced it all firsthand during his time at Ferrari," Wolff remarked.
"He possesses the spirit of a true racer, reluctant to intervene and preferring to let the competition unfold naturally. However, I believe a decision will be made following this race regarding our approach to such situations."
"At this point, we began to outline the guidelines for engagement and later adjusted the terminology to 'racing intent' since the term 'rules' felt too strict for the drivers."
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