McLaren to soon discuss prioritizing Norris title push

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McLaren will evaluate during F1’s summer break whether to prioritize Lando Norris’ championship bid in the second half of the season following a controversial team order in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Last weekend at the Hungaroring, the team opted to swap Norris and Oscar Piastri after their final pit stop, handing the race win to the deserving rookie and denying Norris crucial points in his battle with Max Verstappen.

The decision to swap positions, made in the interest of securing a one-two finish, left Norris visibly frustrated. The Briton's second-place finish meant Verstappen’s championship lead increased to 69 points.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has confirmed that the team will discuss its strategy during the summer break, weighing up the benefits of supporting Norris’ title challenge against other team objectives.

Read also:

Norris: Too early for number one status in F1 title bid

"That's ultimately going to be Andrea's call," Brown told Sky Sports at Spa. "We want to get through the first half of the season and see where we end up this weekend.

"I think the constructors' championship, while it's definitely not going to be easy, is well within reach.

"I think the challenge on the drivers' front is that Max's bad days are second and third places, so [it's hard] to make those clawbacks that we're making on the constructors' that we can do because Sergio Perez is struggling at the moment, [but] we also know he's capable of turning it on at any moment.

"That will be something I think we discuss over the summer break."

Brown, who was absent from last weekend’s race in Hungary, insisted he never questioned Norris' willingness to relinquish the lead to Piastri, despite the intense pressure from the team's race engineer during the closing stages of the race.

"I know Lando very well, so I had no doubt he was going to move over,” said the America.

“I think we left it a bit long because they were free to race. Had he made that change of position right away, you would have had 21 laps of racing to go.

"Part of me was actually happy they didn't race because that would have been 21 laps of me biting my nails!

"I think it all worked out in the end. Some learnings there, some better communication amongst us - to be clearer with each other. But it all worked out in the end."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.