Time for Team Orders? Toto Wolff Urges McLaren to Back Lando Norris in F1 Title Race

Toto Wolff suggests McLaren prioritize Lando Norris with team orders

Mercedes chief weighs in on McLaren's team orders discussion

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has implied that McLaren needs to consider the tough decision of using team orders, as the battle for the F1 championship nears its end.

McLaren seemed poised to take full advantage of Max Verstappen's challenging weekend at the Italian Grand Prix by securing the top two starting positions. However, pole-sitter Lando Norris 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 outside of the Della Roggia chicane, and then Norris dropped another spot to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the next turn.

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

Wolff commented on the challenging situation faced by a racing team competing at the top. He explained that the team is in a difficult position because, while their drivers are racers just like us, they have to make tough decisions. This was in response to a question about whether he was surprised that McLaren let their drivers compete against each other.

"Our aim is to ensure that the most deserving individual succeeds, but when the situation begins to hinder the team's effectiveness, what steps should be taken in response?"

"The team often ends up losing because when you lock in positions and implement team orders, it might not align with our competitive spirit, but the logical approach has to take priority."

"In the end, you don't want to miss out on winning a championship by just a few points that you could have easily gained. Balancing this is incredibly challenging, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach to managing it."

Wolff suggested that McLaren's team leader Andrea Stella might need to reconsider their 'Papaya Rules' and adopt a different strategy than his current "racers' soul" method.

Toto Wolff said, "Andrea Stella and Zak Brown have an unmatched understanding of sports. Andrea, in particular, has witnessed everything unfold firsthand numerous times during his tenure at Ferrari."

"He possesses the true spirit of a racer, reluctant to interfere and preferring to let them compete freely. However, I believe a decision will be made regarding this situation following the race… what is our approach to this?"

"This was the point at which we began implementing guidelines for engagement, and subsequently, we altered the terminology to 'racing intent' since 'rules' seemed too stringent for the drivers."

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