Piastri has downplayed the significance of McLaren’s team orders during the 2024 Formula 1 season, insisting the topic was made “a much bigger deal” by the media than it actually was.
Team orders became a hot talking point for the Woking-based outfit during its championship winning campaign as Lando Norris mounted a serious challenge for the Drivers' Championship, coinciding with a dip in Red Bull's form.
The focus intensified after Norris allowed Piastri back into the lead at the Hungarian Grand Prix, having overtaken his teammate during the pitstop phase to avoid an undercut.
The Italian Grand Prix further fueled speculation about the necessity to implement an organized ‘entente’ at McLaren when Piastri made a robust but fair move on Norris on the opening lap of the race.
Read also:
Team principal Andrea Stella defended the team’s approach, emphasizing the need to avoid disrupting team morale by enforcing rigid orders prematurely.
By season’s end, with Piastri aiding Norris’ title bid and Norris returning the favor during the Qatar sprint, McLaren showcased a balanced dynamic that ultimately helped secure their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998.
Reflecting on the year, Piastri dismissed the notion that team orders had caused tension or confusion within McLaren.
“It's a bit of a catch-22. I think if I was better situated, then there wouldn’t be team orders,” Piastri told Motorsport.com.
“I think it’s been made a much bigger deal than it has been, you know. There’s not really been any situation so far where we’ve actually needed to use them, so to speak.”
Piastri explained that while McLaren made some adjustments to their internal guidelines, these changes were minor and applied to highly specific situations.
“So yes, some things have changed a little bit, and there’s a few more rules or some tweaks to some of the ways we go racing, but again, they’re very, very specific scenarios, I would say.
“So yeah, it’s been I think a much bigger story for everyone outside the team.
Despite the external focus on team orders, Piastri maintained that he and Norris have always prioritized teamwork and mutual respect.
“For us involved, we know to do the right thing when we need to,” he said. “And yeah, I think next year of course I want to be in a position where I can fight and hopefully, it’s just me and Lando that can fight for the championship—that’s our ideal scenario.
“But even without these sort of more prescribed team orders, we’ve always worked in terms of doing the right thing for each other, and I don’t think that will ever change.”
Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber, is no stranger to the complexities of team orders, having endured his fair share of contentious moments during his time alongside Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull.
However, Piastri clarified that Webber’s influence has been more advisory than prescriptive.
“I think the situation here at McLaren is very different to what Mark experienced in his career,” Piastri said.
“I think there have maybe been pointers here and there, and just helping the team in some ways with what he felt didn’t work well in his experience and what he did because I think for a lot of people in the team it’s quite a new scenario as well.”
Webber’s contributions have been more about sharing lessons learned than dictating how Piastri or McLaren should handle specific situations.
“So I think it’s been helpful for everybody to have kind of his input on what he thought was good or bad at the time,” he said.
“But [he is] certainly not leading the team in terms of ‘you need to do this or that’. Or even for me, you know, like ‘don’t stand for this or that’.
“It’s been just very much his own experience and that’s been more or less it.”
As Piastri reflects on his rookie season and McLaren’s rise to prominence, his focus remains on continuing to build a competitive dynamic with Norris while aiming for individual and team success in the coming years.
Whether battling for a championship or navigating team dynamics, the young Australian seems poised to keep doing “the right thing” both on and off the track.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and X
The post Piastri: McLaren team orders ‘made a much bigger deal’ than reality appeared first on F1i.com.
