McLaren: Strategies and Team Orders between Norris and Piastri in F1

The McLaren Crossroads: Between Competition and Loyalty

Formula 1, with its unpredictable nature, is often enriched by the tension inherent in the competition between teammates for the drivers’ title. In this scenario, McLaren has navigated complex terrain, balancing the interests of the team with the individual dreams of its drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. The 2025 season is shaping up to be crucial, and managing this dynamic will be key.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have competed head-to-head in this year’s world championship.

The Precedents: A Journey Through Key Decisions

The 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix marked a turning point. Norris, after a pole position, was overtaken by Piastri at the start. The team’s strategy favored Norris, which created a delicate situation. Although Norris was initially reluctant to concede the position, he finally complied with team orders, allowing Piastri to achieve his first victory. This episode set a crucial precedent for future decisions.

“I know you’ll do the right thing,” said Norris’s race engineer, Will Joseph. To which Norris replied: “Well, you should have stopped him first.”

Will Joseph and Lando Norris

The 2024 Italian Grand Prix presented another challenge. Norris, after a victory in Zandvoort, secured pole position in Monza. However, Piastri, following the team’s “Papaya rules”, overtook him. Norris lost a position to Leclerc, and Piastri finished second. After Monza, McLaren committed to supporting Norris’s campaign, which implied possible position changes in certain circumstances. Piastri accepted this new dynamic, aware of the opportunities that McLaren offered him.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s McLarens finished on the podium, with the Australian achieving his first victory in an F1 race.In the 2024 Brazilian Sprint race, McLaren prioritized Norris, which generated some controversy, although Norris’s victory was less problematic as it was a sprint race. In Qatar, Norris returned the favor to Piastri, demonstrating the sportsmanship between the drivers.

The 2025 Season: New Challenges

In the Australian Grand Prix, McLaren’s team orders limited the clashes between Norris and Piastri, showing the team’s caution. In Canada, an incident between the drivers was resolved with maturity, which helped to reduce internal tension. The Austrian Grand Prix, with an incident between the drivers, was an opportunity to highlight sportsmanship between the two. At Silverstone, Piastri requested, unsuccessfully, a position change after a penalty, which demonstrated McLaren’s stance of not interfering with the stewards’ decisions.

Lando Norris achieved a bittersweet victory at Silverstone.

At the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren emphasized its policy of racing freedom, allowing Norris an alternative strategy that gave him the victory. The most recent Italian Grand Prix, with a slow pit stop for Norris, generated controversy. McLaren defended its decision, arguing that it was based on the circumstances of the race and the team’s interest, but the situation made it clear that the team faces increasingly complex decisions based on established precedents.

The team will seek to address these issues openly with its drivers, with the aim of avoiding unpleasant surprises and maintaining a balance between competition and loyalty on the track.