McLaren once said they’d sooner ‘lose a title’ than make Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris no. 1 driver

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McLaren are facing calls to prioritise one of their drivers in the world championship to stave off the growing threat of Max Verstappen. But one statement the team made last year suggests they won’t take that action.

Verstappen is now just 40 points behind Piastri with five Grands Prix and two Sprints remaining. He’s won three of the last four races, while McLaren are enduring their longest drought of the year.

By elevating Norris, or more likely Piastri, to their number one driver, they could make Verstappen’s task significantly more difficult. He has absolute priority at Red Bull, whereas the McLaren duo have been taking points off another all season.

A number one/two arrangement would entail, among other things, the second driver relinquishing positions to their teammate. David Croft says McLaren must make the ‘ruthless’ call to maximise their chances, as ‘any other team’ would in the same situation.

McLaren’s commitment to their racing principles for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris is absolute

Last year, similar questions were asked of McLaren. On that occasion, it was Norris who was trying to execute a comeback after Verstappen built a commanding lead.

McLaren resisted calls to favour Norris, which allowed Piastri to execute an aggressive move on the sister car at the start of the Italian GP.

Piastri admitted the move wasn’t ‘appropriate’, with Norris demoted to third as eventual race winner Charles Leclerc seized an opportunity.

After that race, McLaren told The Athletic’s Alex Kalinauckas ‘multiple times’ that they would prefer to ‘lose a title’ than alter ‘the way they go racing’. That was ‘easier to say’ when the drivers’ crown was a ‘long shot’, but Kalinauckas expects them to adopt a similar stance this year.

McLaren are desperate not to alienate one of their drivers – they may have already done so

McLaren did start to implement team orders after Monza, with Piastri asked to cede position twice in Brazil. But this was always seen as a temporary arrangement and equality was restored when Norris’ hopes faded – the Briton even handed his team a Sprint win at the penultimate round in Qatar.

Had McLaren raced with a hierarchy this year, they would still have cruised to the constructors’ title, such was their advantage before the summer break, and perhaps the drivers’ battle would already be settled too.

But they knew that would come at the cost of alienating one of their drivers, the worst-case scenario for a team who feel they have the strongest line-up in F1.

And yet, both drivers know they’re good enough to lead a top team. Piastri has been linked with Ferrari, potentially setting up a swap with Charles Leclerc.