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

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

Mercedes chief weighs in on the discussion regarding McLaren's team strategy

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has indicated that it might be time for McLaren to consider enforcing team orders as the F1 championship battle nears its end.

McLaren seemed to have an ideal chance to take advantage of Red Bull's Max Verstappen's disappointing weekend by securing the top two spots on the Italian Grand Prix grid. However, Lando Norris, who started in pole position, dropped from first to third place during the opening lap after a tussle with his teammate Oscar Piastri.

Piastri overtook his teammate with a bold maneuver on the outside of the Della Roggia chicane. Subsequently, Norris surrendered another spot to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the next turn.

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

When questioned about his surprise over McLaren letting their drivers compete against each other, Wolff commented, “As a front-running racing team, you find yourself in a difficult position. On one hand, their drivers are racers just like we are.”

"We aim to ensure that the most deserving individual prevails, but when it begins to cause dysfunction and negatively affect the team's performance, how should one respond?"

"The team consistently ends up losing because when you lock in positions and enforce team orders, it may not align with the spirit of racing we aspire to, but logical decision-making must take precedence."

"You definitely don't want to miss out on winning a championship by just a few points that you could have easily earned. Balancing this is extremely challenging, and there's no one-size-fits-all solution for managing it."

Wolff suggested that McLaren's team leader, Andrea Stella, might need to reconsider their 'Papaya Rules' and shift from his current "racers' soul" strategy.

“There’s no one who gets sports better than Andrea Stella and Zak Brown,” Wolff remarked. “Andrea has witnessed it all unfold numerous times while at Ferrari.”

"He has the spirit of a racer who prefers not to intervene and wants to see them compete freely, but I believe they will reach a decision after this race… what is our approach here?"

“At this point, we began to outline the guidelines for engagement and later adjusted the term to 'racing intent' since 'rules' seemed too strict for the drivers.”

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