Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have affirmed they will adhere to McLaren’s team orders during the crucial final races of the 2025 Formula 1 season, continuing the approach shown at the Italian Grand Prix. This commitment comes as the pair remain deeply engaged in a close title battle, with team unity prioritized despite individual ambitions.
At Monza, Norris was positioned to finish second behind Max Verstappen but a slow pit stop cost him track position to Piastri, who executed an undercut to move ahead. Although Piastri initially questioned the instruction to let Norris pass, he ultimately complied, preserving the team’s racing principles and the competitive balance within McLaren.
Monza incident highlights McLaren’s racing culture
Piastri responded on the radio during the swap with a candid remark:
“We said a slow pit stop was part of racing, so I don’t really get what’s changed here.”
—Oscar Piastri. Despite this, he yielded to Norris, maintaining the 31-point lead Norris holds in the Drivers‘ Championship.
McLaren’s focus on team coherence has been challenged multiple times throughout the past 18 months, yet the drivers have adhered to a shared understanding that the success of the team comes before individual glory. When asked whether they would comply with position swaps should the title fight remain tight in the season’s closing events, Norris stated:
“Yes. Because that’s what we’ve agreed as a team.”
—Lando Norris
Piastri’s concise response was a simple: “Yep.”
Constructors’ Championship points and future races
McLaren is on the verge of clinching the Constructors’ Championship at the upcoming race in Baku on September 21. They will secure the title with seven races remaining if they outscore Ferrari by nine points or more, while also ensuring they are not surpassed by Mercedes or Red Bull by critical margins. This potential victory would mark a significant milestone in McLaren’s recent performance resurgence.
Norris emphasized that securing the Constructors’ title would not alter their racing principles, indicating a steadfast approach to teamwork and strategy regardless of standings.
Verstappen’s reaction and ongoing team order debates
Max Verstappen, who secured his third race win of the season at Monza, reacted to the McLaren swap with amused skepticism, saying on team radio:
“Ha! Just because he had a slow stop?”
—Max Verstappen. He avoided further comment post-race, but his response suggested he might not have offered the same cooperation under similar circumstances.
This attitude may reflect a broader sentiment among some competitors regarding team orders, as Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has remarked that the appropriateness of McLaren’s decisions will only become clear as the season progresses.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella calls for ongoing evaluation
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, announced that the squad will conduct a thorough review of the Monza position swap and overall team order policy as part of an ongoing drive for improvement. He emphasized that reflection and evaluation are essential, even when operations appear flawless.
Stella clarified:
“If you think that whatever you do is good and you are not going to have an individual or a team review of anything you do, even the things you do perfectly, simply you’re not going to progress,”
—Andrea Stella
He further elaborated:
“For me, reviewing doesn’t mean like, ‘oh, certainly we will have to change it’. Potentially we will review them, and we will further align on them and we will confirm them. So the fact that I use this word doesn’t mean that there will be changes.”
—Andrea Stella
And added:
“The fact that I use this word means that that’s how we approach things at McLaren and this review, which is so essential in engineering, in operation, does apply as well in the way you go racing and does apply in the way you go racing with your drivers.”
—Andrea Stella
Looking ahead to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Formula 1 is set to continue its 2025 campaign at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku from September 19 to 21, where McLaren will have the opportunity to further consolidate its lead in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. As the season progresses, how McLaren manages team orders and internal competition will remain a closely watched narrative across the paddock.
