Norris 'Would Love It' If McLaren Gave Him Full Backing In Drivers' Championship
F1Tuesday, 03 September 2024 at 10:03
Lando Norris said he would love it if McLaren fully supported him and clearly set him as the number one driver within the F1 team.
Probably the biggest problem that the McLaren Racing Formula 1 team now has to deal with is handling the situation between their two drivers.
While they might not have expected to find themselves in this position, McLaren could still win both the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships.
The problem is that Max Verstappen's lead in the Drivers' Championship is still quite significant, and Lando Norris, who is in second place, might need his teammate's help to catch up.
Multiple examples in the past have involved F1 teams setting a clear number one driver and the other one being there only to help him win the title—most recently, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen in 2021 (the Dutchman would not have won without Perez's help).
McLaren stated multiple times that they have two number-one drivers and do not prefer one over another; however, after the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, their F1 team principal, Andrea Stella, admitted he would have to revisit the topic of team orders with both of their drivers.
Lando Norris was asked after the same race whether he would like to have the full backing of his team given the context of the Drivers' Championship, and he told the media at Monza Circuit:
"I mean, I would love it, but it's not what… It's not up to me. It's tough because obviously, I think, as any driver, you don't want it. You know you don't want things to just be played that way."
"It's a tough one. Obviously, I wouldn't say we're running out of time, but time is going away slowly, and I still believe I still believe we can do it."
The 24-year-old seems to really like the support of his teammate. But he also can understand the position of Oscar Piastri, who doesn't want to sacrifice the remainder of his season just to help Norris. Therefore, the Briton concluded it's up to the team to decide.
"But yeah, I don't know. When you're fighting for a championship, you want every little thing, and I'm doing everything I can."
"The best way simply is just to win the race. And I didn't do that today because of some silly things. So, yeah, this is for the team, not for me."
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