Will McLaren F1 yield to pressure

Brown: Imposing guidelines is not to be taken lightly

02/09/2024

Amid mounting criticism, McLaren faces a pivotal choice: back Lando Norris or bow to external pressures.

Criticism continues to mount against McLaren F1’s driver management policy.

As the team once again allowed its drivers to compete, nearly everyone is calling for Zak Brown and his team to rally behind Lando Norris to defeat Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship.

Yet, at Monza yesterday, Piastri was permitted to challenge his teammate (successfully) at the start and finished just ahead of him, earning three more points than Norris, who might need them.

The Papaya Rules are set to be revised, according to Andrea Stella (read here). And today, Zak Brown admits that they must indeed yield to the unpopularity of team orders.

It was Nico Rosberg who asked the tough question: “Zak, at turn four. First, Lando almost spun out. It was very close, it couldn’t have been closer. Then, you let Leclerc pass. Maybe those 2.6 seconds cost you the victory. Isn’t it time to enforce some rules here?”

Brown remained composed: “That’s what we’ll discuss this week. We’ll review that. Without having our cars in the middle, could we have pulled away? It’s a legitimate question.”

“It was an aggressive overtake, so that’s a discussion we’ll have. It was a bit stressful on the pit wall. Lando had a poor exit from that turn which opened the door slightly. It would have been nice to see them lead a bit longer in tandem.”

“The start was great and what we discussed was respected—no touching—but I think Lando was probably taken by surprise with that overtake, so that’s something we’ll discuss.”

“It’s about respecting your teammate. They didn’t touch, it was an aggressive but clean overtake.”

Rules to avoid interference at the start, okay. But rules to put Lando ahead of Oscar?

“Priority number one is to win both championships. These are two young drivers who want to win and we’ve always believed in having two No. 1s. That has always been McLaren’s approach and it can be challenging to manage. They get along very well and race cleanly.”

“The simplest thing would have been for Lando to get ahead at the start, stay in front of Oscar, win, and not make tough calls from the pit wall, but Andrea (Stella) and I take it one race at a time.”

“Years ago, everyone criticized team orders. Now, everyone wants us to impose them. We also need to consider the context in which they are requested. Is it logical? Do people just want the tightest possible battle for the drivers’ title? Should we sacrifice the results of the other driver for that?”

“These are tough questions; you cannot take them lightly.”

Will McLaren F1 yield to pressure

Will McLaren F1 yield to pressure? Will McLaren F1 yield to pressure?

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Chinese GP
21 Mar 2025 - 23 Mar 2025
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21 MAR 03:30 - 04:30
Sprint Qual
21 MAR 07:30 - 08:14
Sprint Race
22 MAR 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying
22 MAR 07:00 - 08:00
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23 MAR 07:00 - 09:00

2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
57
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.895s
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+8.481s
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
+12.773s
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+15.135s
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
+17.413s
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
+18.423s
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
+19.826s
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+20.448s
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+22.473s
Pierre Gasly
11
PIERRE
GASLY
+26.502s
Yuki Tsunoda
12
YUKI
TSUNODA
+29.884s
Esteban Ocon
13
ESTEBAN
OCON
+33.161s
Oliver Bearman
14
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+40.351s
Liam Lawson
15
LIAM
LAWSON
47 DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto
16
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
47 DNF
Fernando Alonso
17
FERNANDO
ALONSO
34 DNF
Carlos Sainz
18
CARLOS
SAINZ
0 DNF
Jack Doohan
19
JACK
DOOHAN
0 DNF
Isack Hadjar
20
ISACK
HADJAR
0 DNF
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
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Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
United States Flag
United States
Miami
04 May

2025 FORMULA 1 DRIVERS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
25 Points
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
18
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
15
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
12
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
10
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
8
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
6
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
4
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
2
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
1

2025 FORMULA 1 CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1
McLaren
27
2
Mercedes
25
3
Red Bull
18
4
Williams
12
5
Aston Martin
8
6
Sauber
6
7
Ferrari
5
8
Alpine F1
0
9
Haas F1
0
10
Racing Bulls
0
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