The title race in Formula 1 continues to come to a head. This puts Verstappen chaser McLaren in a tight spot: a priority rule for Lando Norris is to apply as early as Baku.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The title race in Formula 1 is coming to a head and promises unexpected tension eight races before the end of the season.
- McLaren team boss Andrea Stella announces that he will give priority to supporting driver Lando Norris. At the same time, however, the Italian makes it clear: "We want to be fair to both drivers."
- The in-form Oscar Piastri is prepared to give up a victory for the team: "It's painful, but if it's the right thing to do, then I'll do it."
Before the breakneck drive through the streets of Baku, Max Verstappen's fiercest rivals in the world championship are agonizing over a tough decision. With eight races to go in this unexpectedly exciting Formula 1 season, McLaren has issued a team order to make Lando Norris the world champion. "We will give priority to Lando, but we don't want to jeopardize our principles too much," team boss Andrea Stella told the BBC ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday.
So from now on, right of way for Norris, who finished second in the world championship, in the team duel with the brash young star Oscar Piastri, everything for the Briton and the first McLaren drivers' title since Lewis Hamilton in 2008? The traditional team is not making it that easy for itself. "Our principle is that the interests of the team always come first. For us, sporting spirit comes first in racing. And then we want to be fair to both drivers," explained the Italian Stella.
The former Ferrari engineer is well aware of the thorny debates that have repeatedly taken place about stable orders in Formula 1, which have even been banned in the meantime. After all, he was there himself at the beginning of the millennium when everything was subordinated to Michael Schumacher's triumphs at the Scuderia - including his team-mate Rubens Barrichello. Now Stella himself is struggling with the question of how much he wants to rely on Norris in the final sprint of the season. "We are incredibly determined to win, but we want to win in the right way," said Stella.
Norris: Many points already given away
Norris agrees: "I don't want a championship as a gift. Of course it would be nice to have a title at first, but in the long term I don't think it's something to be proud of." Nevertheless, he is grateful to have the help of team-mate Piastri from now on. "Now there are clearer instructions on how we race against each other and how much we take risks," said Norris.
He has narrowed the gap to defending champion Verstappen in the overall standings to 62 points. Piastri is 44 points behind Norris, but recently finished ahead of the Briton at Monza and previously in Hungary.
Norris hasn't had any points to give away for some time now. Without his weaknesses at the start and a few tactical blunders by the team, he would probably already be very close to the championship lead. But does that mean that the ambitious Piastri has to brake for Norris now, unlike in the recent duel on the first lap of Monza? "We don't want to see situations like that in Monza again, because they are detrimental to the team," said Team Principal Stella.
Piastri: "It's painful"
McLaren's top priority is likely to remain winning the Constructors' Championship, which determines the distribution of the billions in race series revenue. McLaren is only eight points behind Red Bull in this classification, after Norris and Piastri scored 104 points more than Verstappen and his stablemate Sergio Pérez in the past European season.
But boss Stella has clearly recognized the opportunity. "The question is how we can win both titles with both drivers helping out," said the 53-year-old. The team management had discussed this with both drivers before the trip to Baku. Stella asked Piastri, who had been in good form recently: "Are you prepared to give up a victory? He replied: "It's painful, but if it's the right thing to do, then I'll do it."
Norris himself knows the best way out of the team order dilemma. "The easiest way is to just win the races," says the championship runner-up. A maximum of 232 points are still up for grabs. If Norris crosses the finish line first every time in the Grand Prix and the three remaining sprint races, he would be the next Formula 1 world champion all by himself.
