Ouch, ouch, ooh, aahh! That’s the sound of Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Zak Brown, and Andrea Stella tossing around a multi-million-dollar potato to decide how Papa Rules will intervene and maybe even affect the outcome of the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship. Based on the consistency McLaren’s top brass has shown so far, that’s, more or less, what I imagine will be happening on the pit stand for the remaining six races of the year.
With the manufacturers’ championship already in the bag, and therefore tens of millions of dollars in FIA prize money ready to be wired into Woking’s coffers, the spotlight remains exactly where it’s been the entire year: the intra-team battle between Piastri and Norris. The Australian currently leads the championship with 336 points, while the Brit trails behind with 314; though making ground up quickly due to decent performances on the track, a pinch of luck, and perhaps more notably, some “fairness-based” calls from his team.
I’ve always admired the team’s approach of letting its drivers battle it out on the track. I mentioned this much to McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown during a one-on-one sit-down over the F1 summer break, where I specifically said, “It takes a lot of balls to put it all on the line and let them fight, what enables you to do that?” The answer to that and other questions remains under embargo and will be published at a later time.
Since I asked him that question, however, the pit wall has made some questionable calls. Monza had me scratching my head so hard it hurt, after the team told Piastri to give up his position due to Norris’ bad pit stop. For no fault of his own, and after simply being at the right place at the right time due to his hard work and consistent driving, Piastri was volun-told to be a team player, let Norris by, and pay the price for what was ultimately the team’s screw-up.
“Oscar, this is a bit like Hungary last year. We pitted in this order for team reasons. Please let Lando pass, and you’re free to race,” showed the radio transmission.
Monza demonstrated that McLaren’s interpretation of fairness was somewhat unique, albeit dangerously close to suggesting a preference for one driver over the other. That preference peeked its head a bit during Sunday’s race in Singapore, when both papaya drivers bumped into each other after the start. In all fairness, the contact wasn’t 100% Norris’ fault, and more of a consequence of him making contact with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen going into Turn 3. Based on the expectations set so far, however, Piastri quickly jumped on the radio to complain to the team. Convinced that he would’ve successfully passed Norris had it not been for the contact, Piastri suggested that the team should tell Norris to give up the position. The team disagreed.
“That’s not fair. I’m sorry, that’s not fair,” said Piastri over the radio. “If he has to avoid another car by crashing into his team-mate, then that’s a pretty **** job of avoiding.”
The point is that McLaren was right not to intervene in Singapore; it was just hard racing. However, from Piastri’s perspective, he has been forced to make concessions for the team and for Norris in the past, including during situations where the team should’ve avoided meddling. Both drivers have now been trained to radio mommy and daddy to see what they’ll do for them during these situations. It’s what they know.
The team is willing to let their drivers race, but only under a highly controlled environment. The question is: what will that environment be now that the championship that actually pays the bills has been secured? Will McLaren switch to a hands-off approach and stop sending mixed signals, or will it continue to make oddball calls in the name of fairness?
It’ll be interesting to see how things unfold in Austin, given that the fast, flowing circuit will suit the MCL39’s strengths but not so much the Red Bull and Mercedes. Who will play the game of Hot Potato best? Who will get stuck holding it the longest and get burned? So far, that’s been Piastri, but I’d wager that’s going to change over the next few weeks. As Martin Brundle explained in his Monday morning column for Sky Sports, “the ground rules in F1’s title battle have changed.”
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As deputy editor, Jerry draws on a decade of industry experience and a lifelong passion for motorsports to guide The Drive’s short- and long-term coverage.
