Piastri assures: rules are "crystal clear" at McLaren regarding team orders

McLaren Will it be able to avoid the head-to-heads between its two drivers in 2025? Last year, the British team got tangled up in the management between Lando Norris et Oscar piastri and on team instructions. No longer used to playing at the forefront and winning, the Papayes had taken a long time before imposing clear and established rules between its two young wolves, both hungry for victories.

In 2024, the Woking team certainly reacted too late in the fight for the Drivers' title with Lando Norris, the first opponent of Max Verstappen in the championship. The "passivity" of the English team had burst forth during the Italian Grand Prix, when Oscar Piastri had decided to take the advantage over Lando Norris on the first lap. The Aussie had been authorized to do so according to the rules of the “Papaya Rules” established by Andrea Stella and his team. Subsequently, in order to help the Briton in the quest for the title, McLaren had asked the Australian to submit to team orders, a scenario that occurred only once during the Sprint race in Brazil. In 2025, McLaren wants to learn from its past mistakes and avoid reliving delicate situations between its two drivers.

McLaren drivers free to fight… until when?

On the sidelines of the Bahrain winter tests, Oscar Piastri was asked about the potential team orders that McLaren will apply this season. On this subject, the Australian was very frank. "The rules are crystal clear before the season starts. We are both starting from scratch and there will be every opportunity for either of us to win races, says Oscar Piastri. Of course, if there is a points difference one way or the other towards the end of the season, and we need help from our teammate, then we will try to help each other.

"But it's still far, very far, and I hope it never happens, because we both want to win, because we were able to produce the performance of ourselves, nuances the young Australian, who intends not to let himself be done in so easily by Lando Norris. So, as the season begins, we will be engaged in some tough but fair races, and we hope that we will be fighting for first and second place more often than not."

The start of the season will therefore be crucial between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri: the one who will post the best performances in the first Grands Prix of the championship could quickly be favored by McLaren with a view to the Drivers' title, especially within a grid that promises to be very competitive in 2025. If the British team has not set a deadline before putting up barriers and applying team instructions, we can easily say that a hierarchy will be established at mid-season. Nevertheless, as Oscar Piastri reminds us, the season is long...

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