McLaren drivers back split strategies despite Hungary debate

McLaren has reaffirmed its commitment to allowing Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to pursue split strategies during races as they battle for the F1 world title.

The decision comes despite the contentious outcome of the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Piastri appeared to lose a potential victory due to differing strategic choices.

Both drivers have expressed support for maintaining this approach, emphasizing flexibility and competitiveness, while acknowledging the need for post-Hungary discussions to refine their processes.

In Budapest, Norris’ bold call to switch to a one-stop in the race paid off handsomely, propelling him ahead of two-stopping Piastri and ultimately allowing him to claim a resounding win.

However, the move sparked debate over whether a split-strategy approach risks unsettling the harmony within McLaren between its two drivers and their crews.

But both drivers have moved to cool any suggestions of internal friction.

Piastri: “It would be unfair to neutralise that”

"We've spoken about it since then," Piastri said when asked on Thursday in Zandvoort about McLaren’s strategy call. "I think ultimately there are race situations where being the last car in the train, you've got a lot less to lose.

"That kind of aspect is always going to be there and I think it would be unfair to neutralise that just because of wanting to be on the same strategy.

"I think there was discussions about whether there was anything we could have done differently for myself, which were very productive discussions. So I think we're still going to be free to pick alternative strategies if that's what we want.

"But yes, there was definitely some discussions about how we can tackle that because it's obviously a difficult thing to try and cover different strategies, especially when you're in the position we are in the championship.”

For Piastri, the outcome in Hungary was less about unfairness and more about the complexities of managing two title contenders within one team.

Norris: “Budapest was a bit of an outlier”

Norris agreed that the incident should not be seen as a precedent. Instead, he argued, McLaren’s adaptability is an asset rather than a weakness.

"I think at the minute things have not really changed. I think Budapest was a bit of an outlier," Norris explained.

"My decision to go on to the one-stop was that you'd have to be pretty daft if I was to box after everyone else ahead of me had boxed, just to follow suit and do nothing different.”

Norris clarified that his choice was initially tactical, aimed at overtaking Mercedes’ George Russell rather than securing the win outright.

"You don't need to even be smart to do something different. It was more to get ahead of George to give myself an opportunity to be ahead of him at that point. Not necessarily to try and win the race at that point,” he said.

"It was pretty amazing that it turned out that way and was a perfect result. I didn't make that decision at the time thinking, 'okay, this is my race and I can try and win it now'.

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"Maybe it was not a perfectly harmonious race between us as a team because it didn't fall exactly into the place of what we would normally go by.

"But at the same time, I think it was just an example of that's what can happen in racing sometimes. I think we both want as drivers things not to be overly strict and we don't want to just not be able to race because we're also here as individuals to race and improve who can do a better job.

"There were discussions, there's been reviews; all along the season, every race, we make tweaks to things and we have a good understanding as a team.

"There's no major changes, but we still have a constructors to win and that's priority at this point."

Title fight trumps friction

Both drivers’ comments underline a shared priority: the constructors’ championship.

While Hungary exposed the challenges of balancing individual ambitions with team objectives, McLaren appears committed to ensuring its drivers retain the freedom to make decisive calls – even when those calls risk an imbalance.

As the season tightens and rivals Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull chase every opportunity, McLaren is betting that allowing Piastri and Norris to race on their own terms will deliver both results and resilience in a fight that promises to go to the wire.

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