There was a time when team orders in Formula 1 were regarded as an embarrassment. “Fernando is faster than you” eras and the disputes between Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello that were exploited by the British Formula 1 establishment to crush the Italian Ferrari. But McLaren has been more indulgent in Hungary.
The British team tampered with the race by ordering the driver who was leading to let the one who was second pass. But the curious thing about their strategy is that for the first time in the history of Formula 1 a team ordered the driver who can win the world championship to let one who cannot pass. And that It could cost McLaren and Lando Norris dearly.
McLaren kept Piastri active but made it clear to Norris that it does not trust his chances
It is probably the most famous team order in history. Felipe Massa had to let Fernando Alonso win at the 2010 German Grand Prix amidst poorly encrypted coded messages and a general indignation in the Formula 1 paddock, where these things don’t go down too well unless the English do them.
But the example of that afternoon in Hockenheim serves well, compared to what happened in Hungary yesterday, to see how Formula 1 has changed in fourteen years. In that race Alonso was fifth in the world championshipwho had only one victory, was 47 points behind the leader in the standings and there were only eight races left. But Ferrari still let him win.
The message was “we believe in you” and the result was a supreme comeback by Alonso in the few remaining races to end up leading the way to the final Grand Prix, even if in the end everything ended as it did. Judging by what was seen in Hungary, McLaren does not have the same faith in Norris’ chances.
Had Norris won in Hungary, he would have been second, 69 points behind Max Verstappen, with eleven races and three sprints left and with one small detail in his favour: unlike Ferrari in 2010, McLaren now has the best car in Formula 1They are doing well on every circuit and accumulating a winning streak would not be unreasonable.
But McLaren let Oscar Piastri win, and it seems like a clear message: they have lost the drivers’ championship and want to have their two drivers ready to win the constructors’ championship. After this double, McLaren has moved to just 51 points behind Red Bull in the standingsand remember that 44 are awarded per race.
We’ll see if McLaren doesn’t have to regret it at the end of the season. The seven points that have been taken away from Lando Norris with an unprecedented team order.
Source: www.motorpasion.com
