McLaren chief defends the perceived 'weakness' of team orders.

      "It was certainly a consideration."

      McLaren's team principal has justified the choice to prioritize team cohesion over a decisive victory at the recent Imola Grand Prix. Andrea Stella acknowledges that Max Verstappen's speed and tire management surprised McLaren, leading to Lando Norris pursuing teammate Oscar Piastri, who had significantly fresher tires, later in the race. Norris, who is behind Piastri in the championship but ahead of Verstappen, communicated to his team a gentle suggestion for a team order to be issued. "It was definitely a thought," Stella admits. "We believed that if Lando could pass Max, he should have been able to overtake Oscar quite easily given his older tires. We are pleased with how things played out. Both drivers are satisfied and believe it was fair, and that's how we race."

      1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve criticized McLaren’s approach. "They display weakness," he stated. "It seems they are hesitant to be aggressive in their pursuit of the drivers’ championship and are reluctant to go against Piastri. It’s really quite strange."

      Although he expressed his thoughts diplomatically, Norris implied that McLaren’s decision—leading to him taking three laps to overtake Piastri and nearly colliding—cost the team a possible win. "I lost time because of that, and then he lost time, but that’s what we need to do to compete for a championship," the Brit commented. "If you try to please one driver, the other will be displeased; that’s just how it is."

      Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko also believes that Verstappen's bold overtaking move around the outside of Piastri at turn 1, lap 1, resulted from McLaren's cautious approach. "That was Max,” he noted. "He was pushing hard. Piastri understood he couldn’t defend against him, or there would be a crash."

      Former F1 driver Alex Wurz suggested that Piastri, who is leading the championship over both Norris and Verstappen, was merely playing the long game, even though the young Australian admitted he should have braked "10 meters later." "Piastri could have closed the line and forced Max off the track according to the rules," said the Austrian. "But he chose to avoid risks and secure points. Given the title battle, this was a very wise decision."

      As for McLaren's team principal Stella, he remains open to the possibility of team orders later in the season. "Internally, we don’t discuss 'if,' we discuss 'when'," the Italian stated. "We are all aware as a team – and Lando and Oscar recognize it as well."