Guenther Steiner tells McLaren what they need to say to Mark Webber about Oscar Piastri after Monza

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Guenther Steiner’s eight-year tenure as Haas boss had plenty of ups and downs, and through it all he learnt plenty about being a leader in Formula 1.

Managing Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen‘s relationship as teammates was tricky at times, with the two clashing on several occasions.

He knows first-hand how difficult it can be to call upon team orders to make sure that the best result possible is brought home.

But with the recent conversation around McLaren‘s championship hopes, team orders are a topic that will continue to be a focal point of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Guenther Steiner tells McLaren what they need to do

McLaren have so far refused to enforce team orders on either car, insisting on the use of ‘Papaya Rules’ and allowing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to fight fairly on track.

The problem with that is it could hurt their championship charge, with priority towards one driven normally handing them the best chance at success.

He thinks that Piastri and his manager Mark Webber need to be sat down, with any clause for no team orders in their contract re-negotiated and the favour returned later.

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“But then you need to speak with Mark and say: ‘Dude, we have got a chance, we don’t want to waste it. Next year, if we have got another chance, we turn it around.’ And you tell that to Lando as well. You try to make a compromise,” he said on The Red Flags Podcast.

“Because, for sure, if it is a clause, you cannot go against the clause, otherwise you get the lawsuit or whatever, but it’s a good [situation] to be in.”

Can Oscar Piastri swallow his pride and move over for Norris?

Piastri isn’t miles off his teammate in the championship currently, sitting just 44 points behind Norris with eight races to go.

But if McLaren do have a chance of reigning victorious in both the drivers’ and constructors’, they need both drivers to be working in harmony towards the same cause.

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As Steiner suggested, that means Piastri will have to swallow his pride and be prepared to back Norris up for the rest of the season.

It isn’t all one way though – with the Aussie sure to have the favour returned to him in the future if he finds himself in a similar position.

62 points is the gap between Norris and Max Verstappen, and Piastri isn’t the deciding factor in the championship – the Brit has to drive well and McLaren have to keep improving in order to ensure that they have a chance in Abu Dhabi.