With superiority comes luxury problems: While the competition is not surprised by the McLaren spat, experts criticize the command post
Oscar Piastri celebrates his first Grand Prix victory in Hungary, but the spat between the McLaren team and Lando Norris over the necessary stable order casts “a shadow over the double victory” of the Papaya squad, as Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff so aptly put it afterwards
Of course, the open dispute on the radio did not go unnoticed by the competition during the race – Red Bull even hoped to benefit from the dispute between the McLaren drivers, who were actually so superior on Sunday, as motorsport consultant Helmut Marko revealed on ORF after the race:
“Lando doesn’t seem to have understood anything for a while, that’s how it looked,” smiles the Austrian, admitting: “Of course we watched it and said that it could still get hot. We told Max that there was a certain amount of disagreement.”
For Marko, the disputes over supremacy in the team are no surprise now that McLaren suddenly seems superior: “You can see that this is the first time they have had the opportunity to achieve a one-two victory and they have to argue vehemently and for hours on the radio to ensure that what was agreed beforehand is adhered to,” says the man from Graz.
Horner on McLaren: “Made life difficult for ourselves “
A luxury problem that Red Bull is only too familiar with from the heyday of the early 2010s with the quarrelsome Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber – such as the famous multi-21 affair in Malaysia in 2013. “The interests of the drivers are pitted against those of the team. There is always a conflict,” explains Team Principal Christian Horner.
He therefore advises his rivals in light of his own experiences: “They shouldn’t have made life so difficult for themselves, because they were actually in a pretty comfortable position. They brought Lando in two laps early. Normally, if you don’t want the car at the back in front, you bring the lead car into the pits first,” the Briton wondered.
Horner: “They have made a lot of work for themselves to restore the order at the end of the race. Of course, it’s their business, but maybe they shouldn’t have created this problem. “
Toto Wolff, who had to manage the skirmishes between the “silver enemies” Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes for years, also emphasizes with regard to McLaren: “Clarity is important. We were in the same situation and it’s a shame because it casts a shadow over the one-two victory. Clarity in the team is important and they are learning now,” says the Viennese on Sky.
The fact that McLaren are now facing a changed task is, however, completely logical: “They have moved so quickly into a position where they can win with both cars that you have to stick to the rules. They will certainly do it,” says Wolff and praises McLaren team boss Stella: “Andrea is showing great leadership, it’s just something new. “
Rosberg and Schumacher criticize McLaren
Wolff’s former protégé Nico Rosberg, now a Sky pundit after his active career, addresses the situation directly to Stella after the nerve-wracking radio spat in Budapest: “Andrea, I’ll take the liberty of making a statement before I ask a question: I strongly recommend that you guys make extremely clear and tough announcements when dealing with the intra-team fight between the two drivers.”
Rosberg continued: “Today it sounded a bit like ‘when you’re comfortable, Lando’ … That leaves the door very wide open for a driver to take advantage of all these gray areas. So that would be my clear recommendation, looking forward: very clear and strong instructions from the command post to the drivers. Otherwise you’ll end up with a lot of trouble between them, and I’m really speaking from experience.”
Stella politely thanks former world champion Rosberg for his advice: “Nico, you speak from experience, so I am happy to take your advice, we will learn good lessons from it.” According to Rosberg, McLaren was lucky that the dispute on the radio did not escalate further: “It was far too open,” says the German and criticizes: “It was not well managed. They are in a new situation and they don’t know how to dominate. “
For Rosberg, one thing is clear: “They have to get used to it, and very quickly. You can see the lack of experience in these moments.” Ideally, there would be nothing to discuss at all in such cases because everything has been discussed in advance: “You have to follow the agreement before the race and be consistent,” says Rosberg.
Compatriot Ralf Schumacher also criticized McLaren’s actions on Sky, but above all the decision itself: “Of course Lando made the mistake at the start, but he fought his way back and was fast at the right time. He is still the faster man. That’s why I say it’s the wrong decision.”
Incomprehensible to Schumacher: “You have the chance of someone beating Max Verstappen, who also drove a bad race today. Then the team has to get behind it and take every point. It’s seven points, let’s see what’s missing at the end of the year,” the German wonders, and adds: “There’s too much security. There needs to be more self-confidence and agility in the decisions. “
