Until now, McLaren has not prioritized any one of their drivers. This has allowed Oscar Piastri to be the highest-scoring driver of the European leg. However, it has affected Lando Norris’ chance to challenge Max Verstappen for the Formula 1 Championship. But now, everything is set to change.
McLaren team principal has stated that the team will prioritize Lando Norris in these next 8 races of the season. This will understandably be difficult to digest for Piastri as he has had the momentum during the European races. Now, he has to give way to his teammate even if it is for the race win.
Oscar Piastri accepts harsh F1 reality
Before making the statement, Andrea Stella had a sit-down with Piastri to explain the situation. Surprisingly, the Australian Driver was more understanding than expected. Here’s what he said on the Thursday before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“The team have asked me to help out and I’ve said for the last few races that if I was asked, then I would.
“Of course, naturally as a driver, it’s never an easy thing, or simple thing, to agree to. There’s a much bigger picture in play than just myself.”
“I’m still coming out here to try and achieve the best results I can and put myself in a good position to just score a lot of points for myself and also the team. I know that if there are some ways of helping the points for Lando, then I’ll do that,” said Oscar Piastri showing support for his teammate Lando Norris.
🚨 | McLaren has signalled it is preparing to impose team orders on Oscar Piastri to aid Lando Norris’s F1 title bid.
“We [will] bias our support to Lando but we want to do it without too much compromise on our principles,” team principal Andrea Stella said.
“Our principles… pic.twitter.com/0KNUceQ8eY
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 12, 2024
So going forward, Oscar Piastri will do whatever he possibly can to help Lando Norris win the World Championship. McLaren will be very happy that Oscar is willing to sacrifice his personal achievements to help the team achieve something bigger.
Although this situation is unfortunate for Piastri, it is a harsh reality. The fact is that Lando is 62 points behind Verstappen and Piastri is 106 points behind the Dutch driver. Although it is mathematically possible for Piastri to win the Championship, it is practically very difficult. Lando on the other hand stands a better chance with 8 races to go.
In the next 8 races, Lando will have to close the gap to Verstappen by about 7.75 points per race weekend. The momentum is clearly with the Papaya team at the moment. However, Red Bull announced that they will be bringing a set of upgrades to Austin.
With just 2 races between now and the US GP, Lando will need to push hard to close the gap before then. If he is able to close the gap to 40 points before heading to Austin, he will stand a good chance to win the Championship this year.
Do you think Lando Norris can win the Drivers’ Championship this year? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
