McLaren boss Andrea Stella has revealed “50-50 calls” within the team will go the way of Lando Norris, starting from this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix – live on Sky Sports F1.

With eight events remaining, McLaren have decided to prioritise Norris, who is 62 points behind Max Verstappen, over Oscar Piastri in the championship after they missed out on a one-two at the Italian Grand Prix earlier this month.

The pair locked out the front row but Piastri’s brave move around the outside of Norris at the second chicane saw the British driver drop behind eventual winner Charles Leclerc to third – a position he would finish in.

“After Monza, we took a look at the first lap with Lando and Oscar. We checked what we could have done better,” Stella exclusively told Sky Sports F1.

“If you enter a chicane in the first lap P1 and P2 and exit P1 and P3, I’m not sure if we have done the interests of the team and that’s our main objective and principle.

“It was a very constructive conversation. Each of us, myself included, we raised our hands and said, ‘We could have done this better’.

“We put all these learnings together and this will be the foundations for the final part of the season.”

McLaren to reassess situation in a ‘couple of races’

Piastri is 106 points behind championship leader Verstappen and will now help Norris’ title bid as they also look to win the constructors’ title, with McLaren only eight points adrift of Red Bull.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix in July, Norris let Piastri through after undercutting his team-mate after several calls on the radio to play the team game.

Some people think McLaren have decided to prioritise Norris too late, particularly after the Italian Grand Prix where the British driver could have gained 10 more points on Verstappen if he won the race.

“In terms of what’s changed, by looking at the standings after two-thirds of the season, we are in the quest for both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championship,” said Stella.

“We acknowledged with Lando and Oscar that Lando is in the most favourable position, so if we want to give it a go, we should try and support Lando. We will do this when it’s necessary.

“In those 50-50 calls, they will more naturally end up in Lando’s territory and by doing so, see if we can make this quest in the drivers’ championship even more realistic. Then we will reassess in a couple of races and see where we are.”

Stella: Norris doesn’t want Piastri to give away wins

The most fascinating scenario McLaren could face in the remaining rounds is if Piastri is leading the race, with Norris in second place.

Norris told the media on Thursday he wouldn’t want to win that way, which Stella reiterated.

“We don’t want to have situations like Monza, when there’s a strategy that will form more naturally at Lando’s advantage,” he said.

“With that situation, we want to win World Championships and also in the right way. For me, the right way is looking at what our values are.

“The team interest comes first, then we also want to be sportsmanlike. Fairness to both drivers and cohesion as we move into the future is important for us.

“We definitely addressed that situation, and said, ‘Would you, Lando, want to swap?’ Lando said, ‘I want to win on track. I don’t want to win a title because it came from systematic concessions’ as it would negate our values.

“F1 is very complex and scenarios never happen simply. What if Lando is a lot faster? This creates another variation of the same scenario.

“We will have good conversations over the weekend, assess the situation on Saturday evening, Sunday, and then make the calls on the pit walls. But our principles remain the same.”

How will Piastri feel?

Both Norris and Piastri both have contracts at McLaren until at least the end of 2026 and are in their second campaign together as a driver pairing.

By prioritising Norris, McLaren run the risk of upsetting Piastri in the long term but the team are fully aware of that.

“That’s definitely something we should question ourselves. This is why we had multiple conversations with the drivers,” explained Stella.

“We need to make sure the plan is one that everyone thinks is fair. It’s not ideal when you have two drivers that can win races and there’s only one winner.

“For me, I’m very proud of Oscar and Lando because in the fact it’s not ideal, they both understand now it’s time to play our part.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Azerbaijan GP schedule

Friday September 13
7.55am: F2 Practice
10am: Azerbaijan GP Practice One (session starts 10.30am)
11.55am: F2 Qualifying
1.45pm: Azerbaijan GP Practice Two (session starts 2pm)
3.15pm: The F1 Show

Saturday September 14
9.15am: Azerbaijan GP Practice Three (session starts 9.30am)
11.10am: F2 Sprint
12.15pm: Azerbaijan GP Qualifying build-up
1pm: AZERBAIJAN GP QUALIFYING*
3pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday September 15
8.30am: F2 Feature Race
10:30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Azerbaijan GP build-up*
12pm: The AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX*
2pm: Chequered Flag: Azerbaijan GP reaction
3pm: Ted’s Notebook

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 leaves mainland Europe for Baku and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime