Blog19. The Happy Podium

At the Hungarian Gran Prix on July 21, McLaren’s ‘spread the love’ strategy potentially drove a wedge through the team. Even though drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, shot the lights finishing one-two on the day, the winner’s podium looked dismal. Lewis Hamilton finished third. We can leave him there. A racing mammoth, he’s pissed with anything less than top spot. 

A late call by McLaren’s team management asked their lead driver to slow, allowing the other to pass through for the win. A nice gesture, but questions now linger about their commitment to the championship. For the record, watching every season of Drive to Survive, fully grants me the necessary expertise to break down the implications of Formula 1 racing strategies.

It played out like this. Piastri led Norris for much of the race. When it came time to swap tires, Norris went first on the signal his teammate would follow. Then if everything went smoothly, Piastri would retake the lead. Then, once again, the reality of racing reared its ugly head, leaving their plans in tatters. A sluggish pit stop for Piastri layered over a slightly miscalculated call to box, and Norris having to fend off pushes from other racers, saw Piastri trailing by 3 seconds with only a few laps to go.

Here’s some context. Formula 1 holds two consecutive championships: The Driver and Constructor Standings. For the first, each race awards points to places one through ten. Whoever accumulates the most points over the season's 25 circuits takes the Driver Championship. Trivia note - Lewis Hamilton holds 7 titles. The Constructor Standings, on the other hand, goes to the fastest car, so a team award, with the combined total points of both team drivers winning.  

So where does that leave us? On the Constructor side of things, McLaren had an outstanding weekend. Their one-two finish took maximum total points, chewing a sizable chunk out of their rival’s lead. All good here.

What doesn’t sit well is how McLaren did it. Up to Hungary, Piastri hadn’t yet won in Formula 1 while Norris, currently sat (still does) in second place in the Driver Standings. A win would have given him 7 additional points against the leader, 25 versus the 18 he got.

With three laps to go, Norris, in clear air, was ordered to slow down in order to allow Piastri through, gifting him his maiden F1 victory. It could be interpreted as a selfless display of sportsmanship where one’s ego surrenders to the team, except this wasn’t the time to be nice. Of course, your first win is incredible, but opting for fairness could come at a cost on two fronts.

First, Piastri knows he didn’t earn the win. Had the team truly come first he should have pushed back, and remained in second, ensuring Norris claimed the most championship points. It’s confusing. McLaren’s motto is all mashed up, a blend of Fearlessly Forward, Forever Forward, or Whatever It Takes. Is winning or inter-team fairness more important? 

Piastri is a fierce talent and would have surely got that first win soon. However, under the fog of ‘everybody gets a trophy’, Norris may feel the team is not 100% behind him. To become champion, one needs this confidence. Let’s hope they resolve this and that the Driver’s Standings isn’t decided by 7 points or less come November.