Piastri responds to team orders: 'I won't pull over for Norris every race'

Piastri: 'There's a much bigger picture than just myself'

In conversation with GPblog and others, Piastri didn't deny his true perspective of team orders. "Selfishly as a driver in my own interests, team orders are not that fun. But in saying that, I realise that there's a much bigger picture here than just myself. I race for a team that's given me my opportunity in F1 and a team that has given me the opportunity to win races in Formula 1 within 18 months of being here. So I have a lot of gratitude for that," the Australian began.

The Australian understands that potentially being able to win two titles is very important to McLaren. The Woking-based outfit haven't won a drivers title since Lewis Hamilton won his first in 2008. "So being selfish, I would prefer to not have it, but I'm very aware that it's not just about me. And I'm happy to play a supporting role at this point of the season. I think any earlier in the season, it would have been probably excessive. But, I think now it's an appropriate time to try and help the team win both championships."

Piastri's role 'needs some more discussion'

So, how will Piastri support his teammate in the remaining races? Coincidentally, Piastri's victory in Hungary this season came after a direct team orders call as Norris let him by in the closing stages. "It still needs some more discussion," Piastri said. "I think the main point is it's not purely just going to be me pulling over for Lando every single race. Because that's how none of us, including Lando, want to go racing. Trying to go through all the scenarios is impossible. And, of course, we don't want to discuss that publicly, but I think the main one is if we feel that someone has done a much better job on a weekend, whichever way it is, we want that person to be rewarded," he explained.

Team orders are 'still tricky' due to Mclaren's position

"And that's where it becomes a little bit tricky still, and we need to continue discussing that. But it's not simply a blanket, I'm going to be behind Lando in every single race, in every decision that's ever taken from here on out. Because I still have things that I want to achieve in the championship and try to boost my standing in the Drivers' Championship. Of course, as a team, we're not winning the Constructors' Championship [at the moment], so we need to make sure that we win that. So it's very important that we maintain that kind of trust and respect." Piastri concluded.

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This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen.