Damon Hill suggests how McLaren team orders are ‘confusing’ Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

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McLaren have caused all sorts of problems with team orders for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri this season as the pair battle for the world championship.

Norris leads the standings by just one point with four races to go, having cut down his teammate’s advantage over the past few races. Piastri held a 34-point lead after winning at Zandvoort, but he has been on the podium once since then.

The Australian has been beaten by his teammate in the past five races as he starts to feel the pressure in the title fight. McLaren have not helped matters with the use of ‘papaya rules’ at certain events.

At Monza, the Woking outfit instructed Piastri to give up P2 to Norris after the Brit had a slow pit stop. In Singapore, the pair collided on the opening lap, with the former complaining over the radio to swap the positions, but McLaren did not intervene.

Norris did face ‘repercussions’ over the incident, which have since been scrapped, suggesting that the duo are now on equal terms. But the controversy surrounding team orders to Norris and Piastri still hangs over McLaren.

Damon Hill thinks McLaren are ‘confusing’ Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri with papaya rules

Speaking via Stay on Track, 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill says McLaren are ‘confusing’ their drivers with team orders. The Brit is not a fan of the teams that implement them, referring back to the Woking outfit’s orders to Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard in Monaco.

Hill said: “I think, again, it confuses people. I think it confuses the drivers. It confuses the team. It confuses people watching. They go: ‘What is going on?’

“I mean, there is a whole history of team orders being confusing to the fans. I mean, I can remember watching [the] Monaco Grand Prix with two McLarens and I can’t remember which one, it might have been Mika [Hakkinen] and David Coulthard.

“Anyway, they kind of… we thought they were racing, but it turned out afterwards they were just, they’d agreed not to overtake each other or race each other at the end. And I remember feeling a little bit cheated by that.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Has Oscar Piastri’s mindset changed for the worse as Lando Norris leads the championship?

The ‘chatter in the paddock’ is that McLaren are favouring Norris over Piastri for the 2025 title. Team orders have not helped the latter’s charge whatsoever, but his string of poor results could not have come at a worse time.

The 24-year-old has suddenly lost trust in his MCL39, particularly on low-grip circuits. McLaren have been caught in development by their rivals as they now focus their attention on the 2026 F1 regulations.

Hill’s ‘only explanation’ for Piastri’s struggles is that his mindset has changed for the worse. He has been off the pace of his teammate in the past few races, finishing over 42 seconds behind Norris at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Andrea Stella knows McLaren must maximise the car in the final four races; failing to do so ‘can’t happen again’. But with Piastri’s struggles and clear loss of confidence, it may be difficult for him to regain his form as Norris piles on the pressure.