Jenson Button believes that McLaren must now put all their eggs in Lando Norris’s basket for the remaining six races of the 2024 season if they are to win the world championship.
Jenson Button believes that McLaren is still in with a chance of winning the 2024 drivers’ championship despite being 52 points behind Max Verstappen (Red Bull). However, the team will have to put all their eggs in Lando Norris’s basket for the remaining six races of the season if they are to turn the tide.
“I love that there is no team order, because as a racing driver you hate them,” says Button in the latest Sky Sports F1 podcast. “But if you want to win a world championship, you have to favor one driver at some point.”
The 2009 Formula One World Champion knows that “especially at this stage of the championship, every point counts. If Lando wants to have a chance of becoming world champion in 2024, he needs every point,” the 44-year-old warns that McLaren cannot leave anything to chance.
“And that even means that Oscar [Piastri] has to set the fastest lap if Max [Verstappen] has set it in the race,“ says Button. ‘So it’s a really tricky situation for a driver, for drivers on the same team, and for a team. But it’s got to happen.’
For the Briton, this is even the reason why Ferrari with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel with Red Bull have won so many world championships. “I think sometimes you have to bite the bullet and give one driver the advantage, especially at this point in the season,” says Button.
“Oscar has done an incredible job this year, but Lando has more points, a lot more points,” the former McLaren driver recalls, referring to the current overall standings. While Piastri is in fourth place overall with 237 points, his teammate Norris is fighting for the world title with 279 points.
“If the team wants to win not only the constructors’ championship this year but also the drivers’ championship, that’s exactly what has to happen,” Button warns his ex-team not to treat the two drivers equally in the event of a crash.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had already announced that he would support Norris in the fight for the world championship. However, the Briton had made it clear that he would not let his team-mate Piastri give him victory if he were to finish behind the Australian in the race.
Button: McLaren mentality cost title
“I like the way they race, letting their drivers fight,” enthuses Button, who is not a fan of team orders. “That’s what we all want as fans of the sport. It’s nice to see that both drivers have an equal chance.”
“It’s always been like that,” the 44-year-old looks back on his own time with the team. “When I was racing with Lewis [Hamilton], we were teammates at McLaren. In one year [2011], we won six races, three each. And if one of us had won all those races, he might have become world champion.”
“McLaren could have won more world championships if they had team orders over the years,” Button even believes that McLaren could have given away one or two world championship titles in the past. ”But I think the reason why the drivers want to drive for this team is that they don’t have team orders and can be treated equally on both sides.”
“So it’s a really tricky thing,” says the 2009 world champion. ‘From a fan’s perspective, it’s nice that they don’t have team orders, and I like that. But if they want to win more world championships, they have to stop doing it.’