McLaren answer: Do team orders change after Piastri's victory?

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McLaren team orders change Oscar Piastri victory F1 Baku Lando Norris
15 September at 17:12
  • Kada Sarkozi
  • Editor

Oscar Piastri has won his second ever Grand Prix in Azerbaijan, after overtaking Charles Leclerc on the second stint. The Australian has now equalled Lando Norris' number of victories as well. Following the race, team principal Andrea Stella explained whether this changes the team orders declared ahead of the weekend in Baku.

"I think I said already that we have two number one drivers, effectively. And having two number one drivers means that we approach things, first of all, in the interest of the team. The interest of the team is to win the Constructors' Championship. And yes, it's to win also the Drivers' Championship," the Italian team principal began to explain to GPblog and others following the Azerbaijan GP.

Norris still favoured

Piastri won in Baku, while Lando Norris could recover from a Q1 exit on Saturday to finish ahead of championship-rival Max Verstappen in P4. "Lando was in the most favourable position before his race. I think he still is in the most favourable position. So more naturally, we would have supported Lando."

Stella continued by saying that, on the other hand, Norris could also help Piastri out today, even as he is the favoured driver. "I think we have evidence today that actually, interestingly, it was Lando supporting Oscar and enabling Oscar's victory thanks to driving for the team and driving to support his teammates."

"So I think that remains our approach. We always intended to review after every event with each driver, with the driver together, what was going to be the best approach for the next races. We will do it and set the plan for Singapore," he concluded.


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