A lot of the talk since Monza has been about team orders, No.1 and No.2 drivers at McLaren and favouring Norris and his championship attempt. Having two talented and closely matched drivers is a positive for McLaren but also comes with its downsides, as we are already seeing in 2024. With Piastri’s rapid improvement, I think it will continue to be a problem as long as those two are at the team and they have a competitive car.
Loading
We have seen teams have a clear No.1 and No.2 driver but with McLaren it is a little bit greyer. How can the team manage this next season? Firstly, they need to come up with a set of rules before the season starts. I would let them race freely for the first half of the season or so, under the usual caveat of not taking undue risks.
Then when you reach a certain point midway through the season you assess the drivers’ championship and if one driver has an obvious advantage you give him priority. That would not necessarily mean always asking one driver to cede position but perhaps having priority when it comes to strategy, new parts and so on.
If I was looking at a driver for the future, though, it would be Piastri. Yes, Norris has more experience but he seems to be more error-prone and that has hampered his championship hopes this year. Piastri seems to be able to eliminate those mistakes better.
Loading
The opening lap in Monza two weeks ago was also a good demonstration of the Australian’s skills. In those first two braking zones you are going into the unknown as far as tyre grip is concerned but Piastri just seemed to have more confidence on the brakes as he took the lead from his teammate. He was able to push the car to a different level and closer to the limit than Norris. Again, he had a chance and he took it.
He is a very capable racing driver and he is going to win a lot of races.
The Telegraph, London