McLaren Owner Keeps Team Orders Option Open as Piastri Threatens Norris at Monza

Chris Ladd | Aug 31, 2024

Nov 16, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; McLaren F1 Team team boss Zak Brown arrives before free practice at Las Vegas Strip Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

McLaren boss Zak Brown's stance on potentially using team orders at Monza is understandable, especially considering McLaren's recent experiences. The dynamic between Norris and Piastri will be crucial, particularly with Norris' history of not converting poles into leads at the race start. The tension from the Hungarian Grand Prix, where team orders became a contentious issue, might resurface, making McLaren's strategic decisions pivotal in the race.

The situation at the Italian Grand Prix is critical for Norris and McLaren, especially with Verstappen starting from seventh. Norris has a significant opportunity to close the gap in the championship, making the potential use of team orders even more crucial. If Piastri gets ahead at the start, McLaren might prioritize Norris to maximize his points haul, given the opportunity to capitalize on Verstappen's less favorable starting position.

"That is a discussion that we will have with Andrea [Stella, team principal]," Brown admitted to Nico Rosberg on Sky Sports F1, via Racingnews365.  "First we needed to see how we would qualify, and now we know where we are, we can start talking through various strategies. 

"We have a constructors' championship, we've got a drivers' championship and two number one drivers, so we will see how things play out and keep everyone on their toes," Brown added. "Oscar has very clear, he's happy to support the team as Lando is happy to support the team."

After the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, Andrea Stella hinted that any driver not adhering to team orders wouldn't be aligning with McLaren's ethos and could potentially leave the team. Brown, reflecting on the situation, described it as a "luxury problem", indicating that talks would occur before the race to ensure everyone was on the same page regarding race strategy.

"Now that we saw how it played out today, it will be a conversation we will have behind closed doors," he said. "How we want to play the race strategy, we will share that when we know the decision ourselves."

With Lando Norris starting on pole, the driver was keen on putting any worries about his starting performance to bed:

“I think the start is always a good opportunity. It’s a long run to Turn 1 here," he said, asquoted by PlanetF1:

“Obviously, we as a team need to do a bit of a better job than last week unless we plan on doing bad starts and just creating a roadblock.

“I think that is an opportunity, but there will be more opportunities tomorrow.

“I think the strategy is still a bit of a question mark. No one’s really done more than 10 laps on a set of tires, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

“I think it’ll be a pretty interesting one even after the first lap.”

2024 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

1. Lando Norris
2. Oscar Piastri
3. George Russell
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Max Verstappen
8. Sergio Perez
9. Alex Albon
10. Nico Hulkenberg
11. Fernando Alonso
12. Daniel Ricciardo
13. Kevin Magnussen
14. Pierre Gasly
15. Esteban Ocon
16. Yuki Tsunoda
17. Lance Stroll
18. Franco Colapinto
19. Valtteri Bottas
20. Zhou Guanyu