McLaren will decide during the summer break whether they need to prioritise one of their drivers in the championship.
The team instructed Lando Norris to give up the lead of the Hungarian Grand Prix to team mate Oscar Piastri last weekend despite him being the closest driver to Max Verstappen in the championship standings. Norris trails Verstappen by 76 points while Piastri is another 40 behind and will go into the summer break behind his team mate whatever happens this weekend.McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said any decision on whether to prioritise one driver will “ultimately” be made by team principal Andrea Stella.
“We want to get through the first half of the season, see where we end up this weekend,” he told Sky. “I think the constructors’ championship, while it’s definitely not going to be easy, is well within reach. I think the challenge on the drivers’ front is Max’s bad days are second and third places.
“So to make those clawbacks that we’re making on the constructors we can do because Perez is struggling at the moment – we also know he’s capable of turning it on at any moment – so, that’ll be something I think we’ll discuss over the summer break.”
Verstappen starts this weekend at a disadvantage as he has a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race. However Brown said the Red Bull driver’s pace in first practice showed he is still a contender for victory.
“Max’s second sector there was pretty awesome,” he said. “You’ve got to assume he’s on for pole, which means P11.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“You can pass around here. I think he went from 20th to ninth* in two or three laps not long ago. So, I think it would be a big mistake to think he can’t go from P11 to P1, but we’ve got to take advantage of every opportunity we can.”
Brown added Norris does not believe he would have been able to pass Piastri if he’d let him past sooner, or if he hadn’t had the benefit of the ‘undercut’ by pitting earlier than his team mate, but that the drivers would have been free to fight.
“Speaking with Lando, I don’t think he thinks he would have beaten Oscar. Oscar was absolutely flying and the undercut there presented a big gap.
“Had we pitted Oscar first, he would have come out six or seven seconds ahead. But we wanted to make sure we had Lewis [Hamilton] covered, it turned out we we did. So I think he needed to do it right away. And then you certainly don’t want them going down to the last-lap battle. But we would have him have his crack at it.”
*Verstappen went from 14th to eighth on lap one in 2022, then eighth to third within four laps after a Safety Car restart
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2024 Belgian Grand Prix
- Belgian GP was “still a win” for Russell despite disqualification
- High plank wear also a factor in Russell’s disqualification, say Mercedes
- Russell is sixth F1 driver to be disqualified after winning a grand prix
- Unheard radio shows why Hamilton missed Russell’s (almost) race-winning strategy
- 2024 Belgian Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings
José Lopes da Silva
26th July 2024, 14:52
This is starting to become comedy, (un)fortunately.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
26th July 2024, 20:09
I think the takeaway here is that they are not sure who to prioritize – I don’t think any of us would be surprised if they picked Piastri.
Bob
27th July 2024, 3:25
That’s not the key point at all. Piastri is 116 points off Max. For him to win, he needs to average 10.6 points more than Max per race. Or, if he was to win each race and get the fastest lap, he needs Max to either get 3rd or 4th if he doesn’t get the fastest lap. Piastri isn’t in the title fight right now if the only way for him to win is to a) have a perfect season and b) also rely on others to also beat Max every race.
The real questions are if Norris is really in it? And does Norris have enough of an advantage over Piastri to warrant priority?
Norris is currently 76 points behind Max. That’s a very comfortable lead. Not to mention, Max is still extending that lead. For Norris to get the WDC, he needs to average 7 points more than Max. Meaning, he needs to win every race and hope Max doesn’t get fastest lap. Realistically though, if he wins Spa and Max gets 3rd or worse (which seems realistic), Norris will win the WDC if he wins every race, regardless of what Max does. The question is, if that happens do they think Norris has a reasonable chance of doing that? So far, Max has gotten the better of him each race, but since Silverstone it’s looking like McLaren has enough of a pace advantage for that to not matter. Albeit, Spa would be different if it wasn’t for Max’s penalty.
The problem is, Piastri is only 40 points behind Norris. You’d be asking him to sacrifice this season for Norris to have a chance at the WDC. This season being one where he can cement himself as one of the best on the grid at the moment. It’s a huge ask of him that could hurt the team dynamic. If he’s happy to play 2nd fiddle this season, I’m sure they’ll give it a chance. If he isn’t keen on it, then it’s a really tough question. Norris is barely in the title fight, people still think Max will win it comfortably. Piastri isn’t that far off of Norris either. It’s a tough decision to make if it’s going to cause issues.
José Lopes da Silva
27th July 2024, 14:51
I agree with both.
My point is that this is another – another – strategic misfire by McLaren this season. This time not in race management, but in Champiosnship management.
It’s like they’ve been working to “let’s create the best car, develop team building, slowly build our two young drivers racecraft, both the 5,5 seasons, 118 GP experienced and the 1,5 season rookie, and then – oh, no! We’re fighting for wins every Sunday! And now we blocked the first row! Who could guess? Now what? What do we do?
Someone should have spared some time to think about these scenarios sometime ago, right? Being Norris 2nd place, they already cut him 7 points. They could end up not deciding anything, but this had to be already thought and settled.
Formula One has this weird beauty of the team mate being the first rival and a team sport where teams value the individual title more than the team one. It’s absurd, but it’s also exciting. Team principals and managers must act accordingly!
notagrumpyfan
26th July 2024, 15:01
Why wait?
I could write up a strategy in five minutes.
Mayrton
27th July 2024, 8:57
It’s not exactly rocket science no. I will do it right now in 20 secs: You always let Lando finish ahead of Oscar when they are driving behind each other. You always prioritise Lando with the best strategy.
notagrumpyfan
27th July 2024, 9:54
And the next 20sec:
– you jointly defend a 1-2 into the first corner (rewatch Hungary’24 how NOT to do it).
– you adjust Piastri’s strategy to frustrate Verstappen’s strategy.
– you support Perez (slip stream, DRS, etc) to make Horner believe he is an asset.
And the other 4min we can have a beer.
Charles
26th July 2024, 15:20
The value of a driver’s championship versus multiple wins for both drivers is not a complex issue, but it is for a team like Mclaren which has a team-oriented approach with a focus on ‘fairness’, instead of a team oriented approach for winning titles..
Dane
26th July 2024, 16:04
Too late for that conversation. McLaren decided at the Hungoraring that they aren’t serious about challenging for the driver’s title. Having a feel good moment for Piastri was more important.
Moi
26th July 2024, 16:37
And failed at that too. Lokking back I think Piastri will feel McLaren robbed him of the joy of his maiden victory.
Doh
26th July 2024, 18:55
Absolutely. He barely celebrated.
Nick T.
26th July 2024, 22:18
The season had already decided that for them. 7 less points changes nothing. The odds of Norris catching up with no other teams between them and RBR was 100 to 1 even if they prioritized them. The amount of whinging over Norris’ WDC run being “compromised” is laughable. Let’s see if he even finishes within 30 points of Max. That alone is unlikely. All that said, they have been shambolic strategy wise.
An Sionnach
26th July 2024, 16:24
No. Do it now. Should have happened already. Piastri was handed a race win when he was clearly slower. It would have been fair enough to swap the drivers around after the pit stops, but, once they were back to where they were “supposed” to be, Piastri would have to cede the position if Lando was a lot faster.
Piastri has a win now. Is that enough to get his cooperation? If McLaren maintain the kind of advantage they have had in the last few races and do not win the drivers’ championship it’d be just silly.
Tristan
26th July 2024, 22:42
Completely agree.
Riker (@corsair)
26th July 2024, 23:44
Well that’s just wrong. Piastri earned, and deserved, the win. He would’ve easily had it if Mclaren didn’t stuff up their pit stop strategy.
Also ignores the difficulty in overtaking and how much pace was lost in dirty air (which Norris would’ve had with the lapped drivers if they pitted him second).
Just one analysis: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/palmer-did-norris-do-the-right-thing-by-letting-piastri-past-for-the-win-in.6SAOVBc0muCHiPDtPdeOjf
An Sionnach
27th July 2024, 10:17
No, it is correct. I do not claim that Lando would easily overtake Piastri. What happened at the pitstops happened and Norris then gave Piastri the win. Piastri admitted his race place needs improvement and it’s been consistently behind Norris. It’s unreasonable to expect team mates to hold position when one is much faster. The best they could have done for Piastri is to give him a target lap time and he could stay ahead if he could do it. McLaren wasn’t under pressure for the win here so they could even allow them to race.
Bob
27th July 2024, 10:52
You’re cutting it where you see fit. Go one step further and Norris would’ve also been gifted the win via the strategy. If the race had gone normally, Piastri would’ve won, hence why people think he was more deserving of the win.
Mayrton
26th July 2024, 17:05
This Stella character is an alarming one. He almost bri gs back memories of Abiteboul. Let’s hope he isnt from the same category. I had hoped better for McLaren. We already have enough clowns at some other teams.
David BR (@david-br)
26th July 2024, 17:53
A confident team, used to winning 1-2 in races, would have pitted Piastri first. Problem vanishes.
A confident driver in a team still trying to win confidence would have let Piastri past and then asked, so, can I race for the win? You know I need the points for the drivers championship, right?
Mark (@surfermark)
27th July 2024, 9:58
Spot on! Why did Lando have to ‘prove’ he was faster than Piastri by potentially ruining his tyres to build a gap if he wasn’t actually worried about Oscar replacing him as team leader.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
27th July 2024, 12:04
Yes, Martin Brundle thought something like that too: Lando could have attacked and re-passed if he’d handed Oscar the lead earlier.
But I wonder if the team would have allowed that. We’ll never know (or maybe it’ll happen again tomorrow…)
Doh
26th July 2024, 18:54
Makes things easier that piastri has got his first win (even if they soured it a little by ptiing lando first) but it may be so fine, that their decision may come two races too late
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
26th July 2024, 20:06
That makes sense – why do something today like winning the WDC that you can postpone until the end of the season?
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
26th July 2024, 20:12
Did Zak Brown just say this?
“Speaking with Lando, I don’t think he thinks he would have beaten Oscar. Oscar was absolutely flying and the undercut there presented a big gap.”
I don’t think Piastri would have won were it not for Max on the 1st lap.
Riker (@corsair)
26th July 2024, 23:47
That’s speculation at best.
PlosslF1 (@f1-ploss)
26th July 2024, 20:55
“McLaren will decide during the summer break”
Sunday Evening it is then…
David West
26th July 2024, 22:19
Norris is 4/1 for the title, Piastri 100/1 – do they need a discussion?
David West
26th July 2024, 22:19
Correction, 175/1
Nick T.
26th July 2024, 22:39
What kind of sucker would place money on Norris at 4/1 odds? 100/1 would be more realistic/fair odds.
David
27th July 2024, 7:21
Bookies don’t give money away.
You can still bet on Max, says a lot.
cdfemke (@cdfemke)
27th July 2024, 8:16
They already used team orders to keep points away from norris so discussing that now will be utterly useless .
I cant imagine how painfull it must be if norris just misses out on the WDC by 5 points or less
Mayrton
27th July 2024, 9:00
I agree they have already showed their hand and it is not loyal to Lando. But given the character Stella I did not expect much from them would they come in this position. And here were are already at the very very first convenience he manages to alienate both drivers from the team in one go. Just wow.