Andrea Stella explains McLaren stance on Lando Norris being their ‘number one’ driver as Briton’s title hopes increase

“It’s [nine] races to go. I think for Lando to realistically be in condition to chase the World Championship, he needs to keep performing at a very high level. He needs to keep being fast. And then you gain your ranks on track.

“And if you gain your ranks, if you gain your merits on track by being fast, by being competitive, then we will evaluate, always led by integrity and fairness.

“Whether on some occasions we need the team to take a certain direction in a 50-50 decision, or if we want to have a conversation with Oscar and say, like, ‘Oscar, would you be available to do this to support Lando chasing the World Championship?’, but it will always have to be a conversation before the race.”

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McLaren famously enacted team orders in Hungary to ensure Piastri won his first Grand Prix, after giving Norris – who was the second car on track – the preferential pit stop strategy. Norris initially seemed reluctant to cede the position to his team mate, eventually doing so a few laps from the end of the race.

Piastri is fourth in the drivers’ standings, 46 points behind his team mate and 116 behind leader Verstappen. There are 258 points remaining on the table from the nine Grands Prix and three Sprints still to come this season.