McLaren have taken the decision to give Lando Norris priority over Oscar Piastri in what remains of 2024. The British team believe that Norris will need all the support necessary to claim the driver’s title. However, according to Max Verstappen, Piastri is more than a ‘number 2’ driver.
Verstappen responds to McLaren putting full support behind Norris
The last few months have been turbulent in the Championship battle. Red Bull have continued to lose ground in the development war, with the RB20 in desperate need of upgrades.
In the meantime, McLaren have cemented themselves as the fastest team. Thankfully for Verstappen, the papaya squad have made several mistakes throughout 2024 – costing them wins and crucial points.
Partly because of this, time is running out for Lando Norris to close the gap to the Dutchman in the standings. Considering the MCL38’s pace advantage, the world title is still within reach for the 24-year-old.
Verstappen: Piastri is not a number 2 driver
When asked about McLaren’s decision to prioritise Norris over Piastri, Verstappen gave the following response:
“Of course, they do what they want, and it’s not my problem,” he told racingnews365.
“I have my own problems at the moment.
“If you look at it from Oscar’s perspective, he’s closer to Lando than Lando is to me. They have to deal with that.
“They [Norris and Piastri] were not far apart, also in the championship. Oscar came in as the first driver, and I don’t think he is the type to be labelled as the second driver.”
For McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari, the next two weeks will be crucial in the Championship. After the upcoming back-to-back races, there will be a one-month gap until the American GP.
This gives McLaren’s rivals some time to produce more updates and reduce the MCL38’s performance advantage. Partly because of this, Norris does not have the luxury of dropping more points if he wants to become Champion.
Of course, as Verstappen mentions, Piastri has no intention of being a ‘number 2’ driver. However, the Australian’s chances of winning the title this year are extremely low.
For McLaren, this means the final 8 rounds are a balancing act for Andrea Stella’s team.
