McLaren ordered Lando Norris to give the lead back to Oscar Piastri at last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix despite the Brit's world championship hopes; watch final practice at 11.30am on Saturday, with qualifying at 3pm - live on Sky Sports F1
Friday 26 July 2024 15:12, UK
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown says the team will hold discussions during Formula 1's summer break over whether to prioritise Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri for the remainder of the season.
The issue became a major talking point at last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix when McLaren's first one-two finish since 2021 was overshadowed by a team orders controversy.
After a much-debated strategy call from McLaren enabled second-placed Norris to undercut leader Piastri during the final round of pit stops, a drama played out over radio as the Brit initially ignored orders to give the position back, before eventually doing so in the closing stages.
One of Norris' protestations over team radio before giving the position back was that he retains hopes of catching world championship leader Max Verstappen, but his deficit after the race stood at 76 points rather than the 69 it could have been if he had won, while Piastri was still 40 points further back after his maiden grand prix victory.
Brown, who wasn't on the pit wall in Hungary but is back for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, said the decision would ultimately fall to team principal Andrea Stella.
He told Sky Sports F1: "That's ultimately going to be Andrea's call. We want to get through the first half of the season, see where we end up this weekend.
"I think the Constructors' Championship, while it's definitely not going to be easy, is well within reach.
"I think the challenge on the drivers' front is Max's bad days are second and third places, so (it's difficult) to make those claw backs that we're making on the constructors' that we can do because (Sergio) Perez is struggling at the moment, we also know he's capable of turning it on at any moment.
"That will be something I think we discuss over the summer break."
Brown echoed the messages that came out of the McLaren camp following the race, insisting that he never had any doubt Norris was going to give the position back to Piastri.
Norris, Piastri and Stella all said in Hungary that they were always confident the pre-stop running order would be restored, but that outcome seemed less certain when the Brit's race engineer was making increasingly desperate pleas for the place to be given back as the remaining laps ticked down.
Norris admitted on Thursday that he had made an error in not immediately letting Piastri through to give himself a chance to try to retake the position, a situation which Brown admits he is happy was avoided.
"I know Lando very well, so I had no doubt he was going to move over," Brown said.
"I think we left it a bit long because they were free to race. Had he made that change of position right away, you would have had 21 laps of racing to go.
"Part of me was actually happy they didn't race because that would have been 21 laps of me biting my nails.
"I think it all worked out in the end. Some learnings there, some better communication amongst us - to be clearer with each other. But it all worked out in the end."
The one-two saw McLaren cut their deficit to Red Bull at the top of the constructors' standings to 51 points, with the gap having rapidly come down in recent weeks.
They potentially have the opportunity to make further gains on Red Bull in Belgium, with Verstappen having incurred a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's race by exceeding his engine allowance for the season.
However, the Dutchman showed extremely strong pace in first practice which left Brown refusing to rule out the possibility of Red Bull claiming victory at Spa.
"It's a tricky track with how much downforce you want versus speed," he said.
"You have to assume Max is on for pole, which is P11.
"It would be a big mistake to think he can't go from P11 to P1 but we have to take every advantage you can."
Saturday July 27
8:45am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Belgian GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Belgian GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: Belgian GP Qualifying
5pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook
Sunday July 28
7:25am: F3 Feature Race
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
10.40am: Porsche Supercup
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday - Belgian GP build-up*
2pm: The BELGIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Belgian GP reaction
5pm: Ted's Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
The Formula 1 action continues this weekend with the final race before F1's summer break, the Belgian Grand Prix. You can watch every session from Spa-Francorchamps live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime
