McLaren: Strategies and Orders for Norris and Piastri in F1

The McLaren Dynamic: Between Competition and Strategy

Formula 1, with its inherent complexity, often presents unique dramas. One of them is the competition between teammates for the drivers’ title. At McLaren, this situation has been recurrent, forcing the team to balance teamwork with the individual aspirations of its drivers. With Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as the only contenders for this year’s title, McLaren finds itself at a familiar crossroads. Since the team returned to the path of victory at last year’s Miami Grand Prix, it has strived to ensure a level playing field for its drivers, especially when the championship is at stake.

The Italian Grand Prix on Sunday demonstrated the difficulty of maintaining balance between drivers, but the decision to swap positions between Piastri and Norris comes after more than a year of complicated decisions and potential points of conflict. Below, we analyze how McLaren arrived at this situation and the precedents established before the eight races that will decide the 2025 season.

2024 Hungarian Grand Prix: The First Precedent

A little over a year ago, McLaren was still adapting to its winning car. Before the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris only had one victory to his name, while Piastri had yet to climb to the top of the podium. Hungaroring presented the perfect opportunity for the team to add a second victory to its successful season, but as the race progressed, the question of which driver deserved to win it became a thorny issue. Norris, who started from pole position, was overtaken by Piastri at the first corner and had to settle for second position. The order remained the same, but McLaren’s first victory with a one-two finish since 2021 was threatened by Lewis Hamilton, who was in third place. To protect against a Hamilton undercut, McLaren’s pit wall instructed Norris to pit first, giving him a fresh tire advantage over Piastri. This meant Norris took the lead when Piastri emerged from his own stop. McLaren made it clear to Norris that they wanted to swap positions once the two cars were comfortably clear of the rest of the pack, but the British driver was initially reluctant to comply.

I know you’ll do the right thing.

Race Engineer Will Joseph to Lando Norris

Well, you should have stopped him first.

Lando Norris

With six laps remaining and no indication of Norris yielding, Joseph added: “Lando, he can’t catch you. You’ve proven your worth. The way to win a championship isn’t just by yourself. You’ll need Oscar and you’ll need the team.”

Norris finally complied with the order with two laps to go, ensuring Piastri got his first career victory and McLaren achieved a one-two finish. Precedent established: The example of Hungary had clear parallels with Sunday’s Monza race, and was even mentioned by Tom Stallard, Piastri’s race engineer, during his radio conversation. In a nutshell, if the usual convention of pitting the lead car first is overridden to protect the second car from a rival, any position change between the McLarens as a result of pitting out of sequence is expected to be reversed on track.

2024 Italian Grand Prix: A New Chapter

Red Bull’s struggle during the second half of the 2024 season opened the possibility of Norris fighting for the title if the results were favorable. Until the Italian Grand Prix, McLaren had vaguely recognized that possibility, but had refrained from supporting Norris over Piastri in race situations. That changed after Monza. Norris arrived in Italy at a good time after securing a dominant victory in Zandvoort, and secured the pole position ahead of Piastri on the Monza grid. He defended against an attack from Piastri at the first chicane, but the Australian, playing according to the team’s “Papaya rules”, which allow drivers to fight for position as long as they avoid a collision, made a clean and decisive move on the outside of Norris to take the lead at the second chicane. Norris, boxed in by his teammate and in an effort to avoid a collision, then lost a position to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the exit of the chicane, dropping from the lead to third place within a few corners on the first lap. Leclerc took the victory with a one-stop strategy, while Piastri took second place ahead of Norris, who finished third.

Established precedent: Post-Monza conversations led McLaren to agree to support Norris’s title campaign, especially in situations where there would be a 50/50 decision between their drivers. Piastri would not be expected to give up grand prix victories for Norris, but he could be asked to move aside for lower positions. In addition, moves that would cause the team to lose positions to their rivals, such as Piastri’s in Monza, were to be avoided. Piastri, whose own title hopes were slim, accepted the new race conditions on a pragmatic level.

It’s a lot to ask. But obviously I’ve been given a great opportunity to be in this position both in F1 and at the front of the F1 grid. It’s something that won’t be forgotten, I suppose, in the future.

Oscar Piastri

The relative harmony in the team is now perhaps partly related to Piastri’s willingness to help Norris at the end of the 2024 season.

Brazil Sprint Race 2024: The Consolidation

The only time McLaren’s decision to favor Norris in the final stretch of the 2024 season had a direct impact on a result was in the sprint race of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Piastri secured the pole and led Norris for the first 22 laps of the race before McLaren asked him to move aside and let his teammate pass with two laps to go. Piastri’s immediate compliance with the order was key, as a late virtual safety car (VSC) threatened to prevent McLaren from swapping positions in the last two laps. Norris, clearly uncomfortable with securing the victory through team orders, thanked Piastri after the race.

Yes, I’m not proud of it. But we work well as a team. So, I thank Oscar, but we’ve done a great job as a team. Today has been the result we wanted. Oscar deserved it, but we’re doing what we have to do, so I thank him and the team.

Lando Norris

Established precedent: As McLaren had spent several races talking about their support for Norris’ title bid, the eventual victory in the sprint race lacked real controversy. Perhaps the swap could have occurred earlier in the race to minimize an emerging threat from Max Verstappen and the rush to do so before the late VSC; however, ultimately, Norris and Piastri were singing the same song. The fact that it was a sprint race and only resulted in a one-point difference also detracted from any controversy, although Norris would not forget the favor.

Qatar Sprint Race 2024: Norris’s Management

Despite McLaren’s efforts, Verstappen secured the 2024 title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which meant that Norris and Piastri were once again treated as equals in the last two races of the season. But in the first sprint race after Brazil, Norris saw the opportunity to return the favor to his teammate and moved aside, coming out of the last corner in Qatar to hand the victory to Piastri. The incident was actually a rare occurrence of a McLaren driver disobeying a team order after race engineer Will Joseph told Norris to “finish in this order” in the final stages. This was partly because the move carried some risk, as Piastri had been involved in a race battle with George Russell, who only finished 0.3 seconds behind Norris when the McLaren drivers made the swap just before the line.

Thank you for the teamwork, much appreciated.

Oscar Piastri

Precedent established: The change initiated by the driver underscored the sense of fair play between Norris and Piastri, even if it went against the team’s wishes in the final laps. McLaren was involved in a tight battle in the constructors’ championship with Ferrari, which meant that the loss of a single point could have been painful, but the finishing order ultimately brought smiles to the McLaren pit wall, while rewarding Piastri’s fulfillment in Brazil with the victory in the sprint race he deserved. Any scoring between the drivers had been resolved.

2025 Australian Grand Prix: First Reactions

McLaren’s advantage over the rest of the grid this year became immediately clear at the Australian Grand Prix, which opened the season, as Norris and Piastri opened a 16-second gap over Verstappen in drying conditions at Albert Park early in the race. But as they disappeared into the distance, McLaren issued an order on lap 30 for Piastri not to attack Norris until they had passed some lapped cars ahead.

Three laps later, Piastri was told he was allowed to race again, but he had missed a possible opportunity to take advantage of the lapped cars. The incident became a footnote in the history of the opening race, as Piastri went off the circuit later when the rain returned and fell to ninth place at the finish. But it was the first instance of McLaren trying to control the battle between its two drivers.

Precedent established: There was a solid logic in McLaren’s team orders: the conditions at that moment had left only one drying line on the circuit, and both cars were running worn intermediate tires, making it even more treacherous to go wheel-to-wheel around the lapped cars. But he made it clear how nervous McLaren was with its drivers racing and that, under certain conditions, intervention could not be ruled out. “We had to go through the lapped cars and then the update of the weather forecast led us to close the internal race between our two drivers for a short period of time until we had clarity on the weather prediction,” explained the team director, Andrea Stella, after the race.

2025 Canadian Grand Prix: Maturity on the Track

Far from a controversy over team orders, the collision between Norris and Piastri in Montreal was an example of how the drivers maturely handled a point of conflict between them. The nature of the collision, which saw Norris crash into the back of Piastri on the pit straight while preparing for an overtake, made things easy, as there was no doubt that Norris was to blame. The British driver immediately apologized over the team radio, while any tension on Piastri’s part was undoubtedly relieved by a 12-point extension of his championship lead. Precedent established: A collision between the drivers had been considered inevitable by many in the team, so Norris assuming the blame helped reduce some of the internal pressure. If the collision had had more impact on Piastri’s result, there might have been a greater controversy, but the result ultimately had no impact on the relationship between the drivers.

Austrian Grand Prix 2025: Respect on the Track

Just one race after Canada, the Austrian Grand Prix provided an example of clean racing between the two McLaren drivers, although Piastri received a warning for an overtaking attempt at Turn 4. The Australian locked a front tire when seeking the inside of Norris at the downhill right-hand turn and it seemed for a moment that it could cause a collision. Norris ultimately held on for the win, with Piastri apologizing for the maneuver at the checkered flag. Precedent established: McLaren considered the incident and Piastri’s subsequent apology as proof of the fair racing standards instilled between the two drivers. It was also an opportunity to point out a lesson learned after Canada.

There was only one situation where the two cars ended up a bit too close, when Oscar locked up and ended up very close to Lando. We gave this information to Oscar and I want to acknowledge and once again say that I am proud of Oscar, because as soon as he crossed the finish line, he said: ‘I’m sorry for the situation at turn four. I made a mistake. I know what I have to do’. So I think everything is very clear. I feel very renewed by the way the team reviewed the situation in Canada, which was a benign situation, it was just a misjudgment, and we have come out stronger and even more united from there.

Andrea Stella

2025 British Grand Prix: The Failed Petition

The British Grand Prix was a rare example of one of the McLaren drivers asking for a team order to be implemented, although unsuccessfully. Piastri seemed destined to win at Silverstone until he received a 10-second penalty for erratic driving behind the safety car. The stewards’ decision relegated him behind Norris, which made the Australian feel aggrieved.

I don’t think the previous penalty was very fair. I know it’s a big question, but if you also don’t think it was fair, I think we should swap and run.

Oscar Piastri

McLaren finally rejected the request, resulting in Norris achieving a significant victory in his home race.

Precedent established: Even when asking the question, Piastri seemed to know what the answer would be. The penalty was the result of his own mistake, and even if McLaren felt that 10 seconds was excessive, it set a clear precedent that it would not intervene to overturn the impact of the stewards’ decision on the races.

However, Stella also pointed out that there were no resentments about Piastri raising the question. “We always tell our drivers, don’t keep things in the back of your mind while you’re driving,” he explained. “If they have a point, if they have a suggestion, if they want to let us know what they’re thinking, just say it.”

2025 Hungarian Grand Prix: Differentiated Strategies

A year after their team orders debacle in Budapest, McLaren found themselves again explaining certain decisions after the race. Although there were no team orders involved, Norris benefited from a poorly favored one-stop strategy to beat Piastri, who was stuck behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari with a two-stop strategy, for the win. Precedent established: By allowing Norris to gamble on an alternative strategy, McLaren underscored its policy of free racing between teammates. That not only means letting the drivers fight wheel-to-wheel for positions, but also the more nuanced balancing act of putting the chasing driver on a strategy that has the potential to overtake his teammate.

As McLaren Racing, we want to offer great races to Formula 1. We want to give our two drivers the possibility to use, express their talent, pursue their aspirations, their personal success, and this has to happen within the limits of the team’s interest and fairness, sportsmanship and mutual respect. When we have a strategy that deviates, when we have different options, I think this is part of racing.

Andrea Stella

2025 Italian Grand Prix: Recent Controversy

The most recent use of team orders by McLaren is perhaps the most controversial of the last two seasons. With Max Verstappen leading Sunday’s race, the pit wall opted to extend Norris and Piastri’s stints as much as possible to benefit from a possible late safety car. However, that meant Leclerc closed on Piastri before the stops, leading Norris to suggest that McLaren pit Piastri first, although with the caveat “only if he doesn’t suffer the undercut, otherwise I’ll pit first”.

Piastri’s pit stop was one of the fastest of the race and put him 4.5 seconds ahead of Leclerc. Norris stopped next, but a problem changing the front left tire caused him to stall for more than five seconds and lose position to Piastri when he reappeared.

Two laps later, Piastri was told to give the position back to his teammate, and his race engineer said: “This is the same as Hungary last year, I know it’s painful, but you’ll have five laps left from now on.” Norris went on to take second place ahead of Piastri, reducing the Australian’s lead in the championship to 31 points. Precedent established: Here’s where things get complicated. By swapping positions, it could be argued that any slow pit stop in the future should be rectified by team orders. But Stella insisted that the crux of the matter wasn’t the slow stop, but Piastri making the first pit stop. Seen that way, the decision was consistent with Hungary 2024.

We seek the team’s interest to capitalize as much as possible, and in the team’s interest we had to go first with Oscar and then with Lando. But the clear intention was that this was not going to deliver a position swap. So the fact that we went first with Oscar, compounded by the slow pit stop with Lando, led to a position swap. And we thought it was absolutely the right thing to go back to the pre-existing situation before the pit stop and then let the guys race. This is what we did and this is what we think is consistent with our principles. We will also review the situation where it is a slow pit stop in isolation. We already have our principles in relation to that. We will review our principles in relation to that. And we will reinforce the direction if this is in agreement with our drivers.

Andrea Stella

The problem McLaren is now facing is making future decisions in line with the increasingly complex web of precedents established in the last two years. However, as has been the case throughout the team’s rise to success, it intends to address the problems openly with the drivers to avoid as many unpleasant surprises as possible.