**”Toto Wolff Urges McLaren to Prioritize Lando Norris with Team Orders Amidst Intensifying F1 Title Race”**

Toto Wolff: McLaren ought to prioritize Lando Norris through team orders

Mercedes chief shares his view on the McLaren team orders discussion

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has indicated that McLaren may need to make a tough decision about using team orders as the F1 championship battle nears its end.

McLaren seemed poised to take full advantage of a subpar weekend for Red Bull's Max Verstappen by securing the top two spots on the starting grid for the Italian Grand Prix. However, pole position holder Lando Norris dropped from first to third place during the opening lap following a tussle with his teammate, Oscar Piastri.

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

Norris secured third place, trailing behind Piastri and Leclerc, and reduced Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship to 62 points with eight races left, as the Dutchman finished in sixth place.

When questioned about his reaction to McLaren permitting their drivers to compete, Wolff remarked, "I believe that as a team suddenly fighting at the forefront, you're in a tricky situation. On one hand, they are competitors, just like we are."

"Our goal is to ensure that the most deserving person succeeds, but at the same time, when things begin to break down and negatively affect the team's performance, what steps do you take to address it?"

"The team frequently ends up losing because when you fix positions and impose team orders, it goes against the spirit of racing, even though it might be the logical thing to do."

"You definitely don’t want to miss out on winning a championship by just three or five points that you could have secured. Balancing this is extremely challenging, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to managing it."

Wolff suggested that McLaren's team leader, Andrea Stella, might need to reassess their ‘Papaya Rules’ and shift away from his current “racers’ soul” strategy.

"I believe that Andrea Stella and Zak Brown have an unparalleled understanding of sports. Andrea, in particular, has witnessed numerous events unfold firsthand during his time at Ferrari," Wolff commented.

"He has the competitive spirit of a racer who prefers to let others compete freely, but I believe they will reach a decision after this race on how to manage the situation."

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

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