McLaren faces growing pressure to back one driver

Jun.16 (GMM)  A shift in driver strategy may soon be necessary at McLaren, according to former Formula 1 driver Timo Glock, after Lando Norris crashed into his own teammate during a costly Canadian Grand Prix.

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko admitted to Servus TV that the incident gave his team “hope” in the title fight.

"He (Norris) messed up again," Marko said, referencing both Norris’ qualifying error and the collision with championship leader Oscar Piastri during the race. It capped a rare off-weekend for the otherwise formidable McLaren squad.

Norris, who is now 22 points behind Piastri in the drivers’ standings, was hard on himself over team radio and again after the race.

"When I make such a complete fool of myself and let the team down like that, I can only feel remorse," Norris told DAZN.

"I'm going to make my rounds now and apologise to everyone, then I'm going to go to bed and try to forget the whole thing."

Despite mounting pressure to pick a number one driver, McLaren has stuck to its policy of equal treatment. Still, team boss Andrea Stella admitted that Norris’ race-day error was “not acceptable.”

"But it wasn't malicious, and Lando immediately took responsibility," Stella said. "We still need to discuss it, but our principles are already in place."

Stella had also raised concerns after qualifying, suggesting Norris had pushed too hard in the braking zones.

"He overdrove the car," said Stella. "He concentrated too hard on braking as late as possible."

Reflecting on the collision, the McLaren boss was matter-of-fact.

"It was never a question of if, but when it would happen," he said. "It's clear that we at McLaren don't want that, but if Lando had a different reaction, there would certainly be serious conversations to have.But I think he immediately realised that he simply miscalculated, causing a problem for himself, for the team, and it was very close to causing a problem for Oscar."

2016 world champion Nico Rosberg believes the situation now clearly favours Piastri.

"It's the first time I can say that Piastri is the clear favorite for the world championship," Rosberg said.

"He's incredibly solid, while Norris keeps making mistakes. After the past two years, it's surprising, but Piastri is now the favourite. In the new situation, where there's so much pressure, he's simply strong."

Timo Glock also thinks it’s time for McLaren to reconsider its approach.

"The danger-zone will come at some point, because (Max) Verstappen is always there, scoring points. (George) Russell also scores points very consistently," Glock told Sky Deutschland.

"That's why McLaren must learn from last year. At some point, this team order must come. Norris made a big step towards that today."

Stella, however, insisted that the team’s stance on driver equality remains unchanged.

"Of course we can issue team orders from the pitwall," he said. "But that would be artificial racing. We don't want that.

We want to give both drivers the chance to fight for positions – among themselves, too. Lando will learn from today."

Piastri, calm and composed despite the contact, said he saw no reason to change anything.

"I think it was a fair, tough battle over a couple of corners, and it's a shame to end the way we did," he told DAZN.

"I don't think we should change anything. We're fighting for a championship – and it was fair."

On the team’s broader struggles in Montreal, the 24-year-old added: "It hasn't been a good weekend overall. There are a lot of things to analyze, but I'm definitely taking the points.

"You don't always have a great weekend. We did a decent job, but there are things to analyse."]]>