McLaren ask Piastri to back Norris title bid

McLaren are to prioritise Lando Norris complete team-mate Oscar Piastri successful their bid to triumph some Formula 1 world championships this year.

But squad main Andrea Stella said immoderate actions taken to backmost Norris successful nan drivers' title pursuit would hap only wrong nan team's principles of sportsmanship and fairness.

Stella told BBC Sport: "The wide conception is we are incredibly wished to win, but we want to triumph successful nan correct way."

Norris heads into this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix 62 points down Red Bull's Max Verstappen successful nan drivers' title pinch a maximum of 232 still available.

Piastri is successful 4th spot successful nan championship, 86 points down Verstappen.

Stella, speaking successful an exclusive interview, said: "We [will] bias our support to Lando but we want to do it without excessively overmuch discuss connected our principles.

"Our principles are that nan squad liking ever comes first. Sportsmanship for america is important successful nan wide measurement we spell racing. And past we want to beryllium adjacent to some drivers."

Until now, McLaren had allowed Norris and Piastri to title each different without interference from nan team.

The displacement successful argumentation towards uncovering ways to boost Norris' chances of beating Verstappen to nan drivers' title comes aft a bid of meetings betwixt McLaren bosses and their drivers pursuing nan Italian Grand Prix.

In Monza, Norris and Piastri qualified first and 2nd but nan Australian overtook nan Briton connected nan first thigh and nan incident led to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc getting betwixt nan 2 McLarens. Leclerc went connected to triumph nan race, from Piastri and Norris. Verstappen vanished an uncompetitive sixth.

Stella said: "What we don't want to spot immoderate much is simply a business for illustration successful Monza successful which we participate a chicane P1/P2 and we exit P1/P3. Because that is simply a detriment to nan team.

"The squad interests comes first and these are nan situations that supra each we request to hole because eventually, arsenic a matter of fact, nan measurement we entered nan title successful Monza near nan doorway unfastened this situation.

"After Monza, 3 objectives: we request to make judge that thing that happens connected way is not to nan detriment of nan team.

"Second objective, really do we triumph some championships, some drivers committed to help?

"But what we don't want to do is triumph successful a reckless way.

"Those are nan 3 topics and they specify nan measurement we spell racing successful Baku. This will beryllium updated aft Baku."

Verstappen dominated nan first portion of nan season, and has taken 7 victories, erstwhile nary different driver has much than 2 wins.

But nan Dutchman has not won for six races, since nan Spanish Grand Prix successful June, and Red Bull admit they are mislaid successful knowing why their car has fallen backmost successful position of capacity compared to McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes

Stella said some McLaren drivers had bought into nan displacement successful philosophy.

"The conversations person been very collaborative," he said.

"Even erstwhile I said to Oscar: 'Would you beryllium disposable to springiness up a victory?' He said: 'It's painful, but if it's nan correct point to do now, I will do it'.

"Every driver is hard-wired to spell for a victory. So I americium ever very impressed by nan level of squad tone and maturity and collaboration that we recovered successful this period."

Stella refused to springiness specifications of nan benignant of choices that mightiness beryllium made successful Norris' favour but said decisions would beryllium made connected an advertisement hoc ground arsenic to whether immoderate interference betwixt nan 2 drivers was "worthwhile".

And he emphasised that Norris was connected committee pinch nan thought of not going each retired successful acting successful his favour successful each way.

"Lando wants to triumph because he deserved nan triumph connected track," Stella said.

"It's OK to beryllium occasionally supported by your team-mate, but you don't want to use, systematically, ways of adjusting nan title conscionable for nan liking of nan points erstwhile your team-mate is scoring successful a measurement that he deserves. This is not nan measurement McLaren want to win, aliases nan measurement Lando wants to win.

"If I inquire Lando, he would say: 'I americium comfortable if successful Abu Dhabi [at nan extremity of nan season] I miss a fewer points that I could person sewage pinch immoderate actions, but if those actions were not correct astatine nan time, then, you cognize what? We support beardown arsenic a team, nan squad is unchangeable and cohesive, we will springiness it a spell adjacent year'."

In nan constructors' championship, McLaren are conscionable 8 points down Red Bull and could return nan lead this weekend. Ferrari are successful 3rd place, 31 adrift of McLaren.

Stella emphasised: "We request to beryllium observant that while we attraction nan speech and nan attraction connected to nan drivers’, we don't suffer show connected nan truth that nan constructors’ is astatine slightest a three-headed quest."

Stella said this changed attack from McLaren was chopped from nan alleged "papaya rules", a building utilized by Norris’ technologist Will Joseph complete nan squad power successful Italy arsenic a shorthand for nan drivers' rules of engagement pinch each different connected track.

Stella said: "The 'papaya rules' only person to do pinch racing pinch nary risks, nary interaction betwixt nan 2 McLarens and respectfully. That's it.

"It's conscionable a speedy measurement to punctual our drivers, 'Guys, don't return excessively overmuch consequence successful fighting each other'."