F1 Q&A: Verstappen, Russell, Hamilton, Alonso, McLaren, Norris, Piastri and Red Bull
Did McLaren make a mistake in not bringing Lando Norris into the driver’s seat earlier, which could have given them the driver’s and constructor’s title? – Tracey
Whether an early preference for Norris would make him world champion was controversial, to say the least, as McLaren rarely actually had a chance of winning the world title, usually finishing ahead of Oscar Piastri.
The most obvious ones are Hungary and Monza.
In Budapest, Norris was on pole but Piastri took the lead at the first corner and the question then became whether Norris should have let Piastri go back. The way the team executed that strategy ultimately gave Norris the lead.
It was very difficult for Piastri to keep Norris in the lead – and he earned the win. But assuming they’ve done that – that’s seven more points for Norris.
At Monza, there was a strong argument that McLaren should not have been allowed to race on the first lap, as Piastri’s brilliant overtake on Norris at Turn 4 ultimately resulted in Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari passing Norris. Reese moved into second and he continued to win from there.
If that hadn’t happened, it’s impossible to know if McLaren would have won, as Ferrari might still have cheated them with a stop. But even if Norris wins instead of finishing third, that’s an extra 10 points.
Verstappen leads Norris by 63 points. So it’s hard to argue that Norris’ team command in both events would have made Norris a champion – but it didn’t.
But that’s not to say McLaren doesn’t think there’s anything to learn from the way they’ve handled things this season.
Ahead of last weekend’s race in Abu Dhabi, McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown was asked if he thought it would have been better to back Norris earlier.
He said, “No. I don’t have regrets. I tend to learn and say, ‘I would have done things differently.'” Otherwise you live with a series of regrets.
“It’s hard because Oscar was never that far behind Lando (in the championship). We started hearing people say we should favor Lando midway through the season, which was really early.
“I think what we learned at Monza was that we were first and second into turn four and then first and third out, but the instructions we gave them were more vague. It’s subjective, it was: ‘Don’t adventure.’
“So Lando is thinking, ‘I don’t need to try so hard to hold back because I don’t need to risk it.’ Oscar is thinking, ‘Hey, the door looks open to me.’ “
“In hindsight, we could have been more clear about, ‘How you get into turn four is how you need to get out of turn four. Clear everyone out and start racing.’
“I like that we let our guys race. But if I look at Monza, that’s what we learned. We need to be more clear because the driver’s perception of risk is subjective.”
