The F1 Driver’s Championship is heating up with Lando Norris cutting Max Verstappen’s lead at the top to 62 points. Red Bull’s struggles in the recent races have them on the brink of relinquishing the Constructor’s lead as McLaren aims to do a Driver’s and Constructors’s double for the first time since 1998.
Although McLaren is enjoying a wave of positivity, questions have been raised about their priorities at different points during the season. Norris being the closest challenger for the title, has seen little to no support from his teammate Oscar Piastri. The Papayas famously allowed Piastri to pass Norris in the latter stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix to hand Australian the win.
In the most recent race in Italy, Piastri almost pushed Norris off-track to take the lead of the race and Britt eventually finished in 3rd position behind his teammate and Charles Leclerc.
In a recent interview, team principal Andrea Stella emphasized that any measures to support Norris in his pursuit of the driver’s title would strictly adhere to the team’s values of sportsmanship and fairness. Stella also emphasized that Norris will receive every possible help from his team and teammate ahead of the race in Baku.
“The team interests come first and these are the situations that above all we need to fix because eventually, as a matter of fact, the way we entered the race in Monza left the door open this situation. After Monza, three objectives: we need to make sure that anything that happens on track is not to the detriment of the team. The second objective is how we win both championships, with both drivers committed to help.” Stella said.
“Those are the three topics and they define the way we go racing in Baku. This will be updated after Baku,” he added.
The next F1 race will be held this weekend at the Baku Street Circuit in Azerbaijan with McLaren again expected to be the fastest car on the track. On the other hand, Red Bull’s main concern in Baku will be the track’s aggressive curbs which seem to decrease the performance of the RB20 as was the case in Miami and Monaco.
With the next two races due to be held on the streets of Azerbaijan and Singapore, McLaren would see this as a chance to overtake Milton Keans’s outfit in the Constructor’s Championship and close the gap in the Driver’s Championship.
Is McLaren prioritizing Constructor’s title?
After the Italian GP, Stella was quick to address both drivers and emphasized the “papaya rules” should be taken seriously regardless of the situation.
“We need to be careful that while we focus the conversation and the attention on the drivers’, we don’t lose sight of the fact that the constructors’ is at least a three-headed quest. The ‘papaya rules’ only have to do with racing with no risks, no contact between the two McLarens and respectfully. That’s it.” Stella said.
In the constructors’ championship, McLaren is just eight points behind Red Bull and could take the lead this weekend in Baku. Ferrari is in third place with 407 points followed by Mercedes (292) and Aston Martin (74).
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Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
