McLaren’s Difficult Dance: Between Competition and Team Play
Formula 1, known for its multiple complexities, always adds a dramatic element: the fight between teammates for the drivers’ title. On the one hand, they are employed by the same team, competing for an organization that represents thousands of people. On the other hand, they pursue their own dreams, often at the expense of others. For McLaren, this paradox is especially familiar. With Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as the only contenders for this year’s title, the team faces a constant challenge. Since McLaren returned to the path of success at the Miami Grand Prix last year, they have worked hard to ensure a fair playing field for their drivers, especially when the championship is at stake. The Italian Grand Prix on Sunday demonstrated the difficulty of maintaining the balance between the two drivers, but the decision to swap positions between Piastri and Norris is the result of more than a year of difficult decisions and potential conflicts. Below, we analyze how McLaren arrived at this situation and the precedents established for the eight races that will decide the 2025 season.
2024 Hungarian Grand Prix
It’s easy to forget that just over a year ago, McLaren was still adapting to life with a race-winning car. Before the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris only had one victory to his name and Piastri had yet to climb to the top of the F1 podium. Hungaroring presented the perfect opportunity for the team to add a second victory to their breakthrough season, but as the race progressed, the question of which driver deserved to win it became a thorny issue. Norris started from pole position, but was overtaken by Piastri at the first corner and had to settle for second place. The order remained the same as the race progressed, but McLaren’s first victory with a one-two finish since 2021 was still threatened by Lewis Hamilton in third place. To protect against a Hamilton “undercut”, McLaren’s pit wall instructed Norris to pit first, which in turn gave him a fresh tire advantage over Piastri that meant Norris took the lead when Piastri emerged from his own stop. McLaren made it clear to Norris that they wanted to reverse the positions once the two cars were comfortably clear of the rest of the pack, but the British driver was initially reluctant to comply.- McLaren walking the ‘fairness’ tightrope with Norris, Piastri
- Oscar Piastri: McLaren team order to swap with Lando Norris was ‘fair’
- 2025 Italian Grand Prix recap: F1 results, highlights as Verstappen dominates
With six laps to go and no signs of Norris yielding, Joseph added: “Lando, he can’t catch you. You’ve made your point. The way to win a championship isn’t by yourself. You’ll need Oscar and you’ll need the team.”
Contents
2024 Italian Grand Prix
What happened? Red Bull’s struggle during the second half of the 2024 season opened the possibility for Norris to fight for the title if the results favored him. Until the Italian Grand Prix, McLaren had vaguely recognized such a scenario, but refrained from supporting Norris over Piastri in race situations. That changed after Monza. Norris arrived in Italy on a high after securing a dominant victory in Zandvoort, and secured pole position ahead of Piastri on the Monza grid. He defended against an attack from Piastri at the first chicane, but the Australian, playing by 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 around 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 exiting the chicane, dropping from the lead to third place in the space of 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 was third.
Brazil Sprint Race 2024
What happened? 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 took pole and led Norris for the first 22 laps of the race before McLaren asked him to move aside and let his teammate through 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,” he said. “But we work well as a team. So I thank Oscar, but we’ve done a great job as a team. Today was the result we wanted. Oscar deserved it, but we’re doing what we have to do, so I thank him and the team.” Precedent established: Because McLaren had spent several races talking about their support for Norris’s title bid, the eventual victory in the sprint race lacked any real controversy. Perhaps the exchange could have happened 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 from the same roadmap. The fact that it was a sprint race and only resulted in a one-point difference also diminished any controversy, although Norris would not forget the favor.Qatar Sprint Race 2024
What happened? Despite McLaren’s efforts, Verstappen secured the 2024 title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which meant Norris and Piastri were again treated as equals for the final 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. That was partly because the move carried some risk, as Piastri had been involved in a battle throughout the race with George Russell, who finished just 0.3 seconds behind Norris when the McLaren drivers made the swap just before the line. Piastri acknowledged Norris’ gesture over the team radio: “Thanks for the teamwork, much appreciated.” 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 close battle in the constructors’ championship with Ferrari, which meant that the loss of a single point could have been painful, but the finishing order finally brought smiles to the McLaren pit wall as it rewarded Piastri’s conformity in Brazil with the victory in the sprint race he deserved. Any scoring between the drivers had been resolved.2025 Australian Grand Prix
What happened? McLaren’s advantage over the rest of the field 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 traffic 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 inaugural race, as Piastri went off track 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.
2025 Canadian Grand Prix
What happened? 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 sensitive point 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 to handle, as there was no doubt that Norris was to blame. The British driver immediately apologized over the team radio, while any tension from Piastri 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 pressure internally. 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
What happened? 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 attempted move at Turn 4. The Australian locked a front tire when seeking the inside of Norris at the downhill right-hand turn and momentarily it seemed that it could cause a collision. Norris ultimately held firm for the victory, with Piastri apologizing for the move at the checkered flag.
Precedent established: McLaren viewed the near 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 little too close, when Oscar locked up and ended up very close to Lando,” Stella said. “We gave Oscar this feedback 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 mistake in judgment, and we have come out stronger and even more united from there.”2025 British Grand Prix
What happened? The British Grand Prix was a rare example of one of the McLaren drivers asking for a team order to be implemented, although without success. Piastri looked like he was going to win at Silverstone until he received a 10-second penalty for erratic driving behind the safety car. The stewards’ decision left him behind Norris, leaving the Australian feeling aggrieved. “I don’t think the previous penalty was very fair,” Piastri said over the team radio. “I know it’s a big ask, but if you don’t think it was fair either, I think we should swap and race.” McLaren ultimately rejected the request, resulting in Norris securing a significant victory at his home race.
However, Stella also pointed out that there were no resentments because Piastri raised the question. “We always tell our drivers, don’t keep things in the back of your mind while you’re driving,” he explained. “If you have a point, if you have a suggestion, if you want to let us know what you’re thinking, just say it.”
2025 Hungarian Grand Prix
What happened? A year after their team orders debacle in Budapest, and McLaren found themselves again explaining certain decisions after the race. Although there were no team orders involved, Norris benefited from an unfavored 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 take a gamble with 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 pursuing driver on a strategy that has the potential to overtake his teammate. “As McLaren Racing, we want to deliver great racing to Formula 1,” Stella said. “We want to give our two drivers the possibility to use, express their talent, pursue their aspirations, their personal success, and this must 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.”2025 Italian Grand Prix
What happened? McLaren’s most recent use of team orders is perhaps the most controversial of the last two seasons. With Max Verstappen leading Sunday’s race, the pit wall opted to extend both Norris and Piastri’s stops as long as possible to benefit from a possible late safety car. However, that meant Leclerc closing in on Piastri before the stops, leading Norris to suggest that McLaren should pit Piastri first, although with the caveat of “only if he doesn’t get the undercut, otherwise I’ll pit first”. Piastri’s pit stop was one of the fastest of the race and saw him emerge 4.5 seconds ahead of Leclerc. Norris pitted next, but a problem changing the front left tire caused him to be stationary for more than five seconds and he lost position to Piastri when he reappeared.
1:37 Is disaster for Oscar Piastri the only title possibility for Lando Norris? Laurence Edmondson analyzes how a DNF at Zandvoort has left Lando Norris’ title hopes hanging by a thread.
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 it gets difficult. 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 rather Piastri getting the first pit stop. Seen that way, the decision was consistent with Hungary 2024. “We pursue the team’s interest to capitalize as much as possible, and in the team’s interests we had to go first with Oscar and then with Lando,” Stella said. “But the clear intention was that this was not going to lead to an exchange of positions.” So the fact that we went first with Oscar, compounded by the slow pit stop with Lando, led to a swap of positions. And we thought it was absolutely the right thing to go back to the situation before the pit stop and then let the guys race. This is what we did and this is what we believe complies with our principles.” Added: “We will also review the situation for which it is an isolated slow pit stop. 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.” The problem McLaren is now facing is making future decisions in line with the increasingly complex network 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 issues openly with the drivers to avoid as many unpleasant surprises as possible.
