McLaren to prioritise Norris over Piastri for remaining races

Azerbaijan GP: McLaren to back Norris in title chase against Verstappen.

McLaren has announced a strategic shift, instructing Oscar Piastri to support his teammate Lando Norris in Norris's bid for the championship over the final eight races of the season.

Norris, currently the closest contender to Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings, narrowed the gap to 62 points after the recent race in Italy. As the team heads into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella confirmed that Piastri has agreed to assist Norris in his quest to catch Verstappen.

"We [will] bias our support to Lando, but we want to do it without too much compromise on our principles," Stella told BBC Sport. "Our principles are that the team interest always comes first. Sportsmanship for us is important in the overall way we go racing, and then we want to be fair to both drivers."

The decision to support Norris exclusively gained traction following the Italian GP, where Piastri took the lead from his teammate on the opening lap. Although Norris had started from pole, he slipped to third place by the fourth corner after Piastri's assertive maneuver allowed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to claim second place.

"What we don't want to see anymore is a situation like in Monza in which we enter a chicane P1/P2 and we exit P1/P3. Because that is a detriment to the team," Stella added.

"The team interest comes first, and these are the situations that above all we need to fix because eventually, as a matter of fact, the way we entered the race in Monza left the door open to this situation."

Stella outlined a three-pronged strategy moving forward:

Team Over Individual: Ensuring that any on-track action doesn't harm the team's overall performance.

Support Both Championships: Both drivers are committed to the dual objective of securing both the drivers' and constructors' championships.

Prudent Racing: Winning without reckless maneuvers or sacrifices.

"These are the three topics, and they define the way we go racing in Baku. This will be updated after Baku," Stella concluded.

The Azerbaijan GP could be a pivotal moment for McLaren as they balance competitive integrity with strategic prioritization to challenge Verstappen's dominance in the championship.

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