Andrea Stella acknowledges Lando Norris is in ‘best position’ to fight for title as he points to future McLaren discussions

Andrea Stella has stressed the need for McLaren, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to “work as a team” if they are to build on their strong run of form and challenge for both F1 World Championship titles in 2024.

Thanks to effective upgrades, McLaren have emerged as a genuine threat to Red Bull in the constructors’ battle this season, with the reigning world champions’ lead being cut to just eight points after the Italian Grand Prix.

At the same time, Norris has been chipping away at Max Verstappen’s advantage in the drivers’ standings – aided by car-related struggles at Red Bull – and left Monza having cut the gap to 62 points with eight rounds remaining.

However, there was potential for Norris to have made even more inroads at the Temple of Speed, where Piastri passed his pole-sitting team mate for the lead via a bold move on the opening lap, and the squad’s so-called ‘papaya rules’ came under the spotlight.

After the race, Team Principal Stella was asked about those rules, when Norris – who is 44 points ahead of Piastri in the standings – might be backed as their ‘number one’ in the drivers’ championship, and how he plans to manage the situation.

MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 01: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL38 Mercedes — Piastri got the jump on Norris during the opening lap at Monza as the McLarens went wheel-to-wheel

“Both drivers are mathematically in position, but Lando is obviously in the best position from a numbers point of view, and we are fighting Max Verstappen, so if we have to give support to one driver, we have to pick the driver that is in the best position,” said Stella.

He continued: “Already in our conversation even before the race here [at Monza], we acknowledged that Lando is in the best position in the drivers’ championship point of view.

“We have conversations with Oscar, with Lando, and together, and that defines our rules of engagement. We need to take a look at the first lap, but it has to be done in a way that is competent, is detailed, is specific, takes into account the videos, the drivers’ expectation...

“Then [we will] see what we can learn from this situation to adjust future situations, save the fact we do want to give it a go with the championship with Lando right now.”

Pushed if that means McLaren now have a number one, Stella added: “Well, number one works well as a headline, I’m not sure it works in the real world in terms of, ‘What does it mean?’

Jolyon Palmer's Analysis: Norris vs. Piastri & Papaya Rules

“For instance, let’s say hypothetically, we can prove that in corner four Lando braked too early, and Oscar kind of naturally had the possibility to take the lead, what do you do if you are number one? Swap the lap after? It’s very difficult to implement conditionally in the real world.

“I think it’s better to keep working as a team, get the opinion of both drivers and then work together to, like I say, try and pursue this objective in both championships, as it now looks like both championships are a possibility.

“We were a little bit cautious before Monza but now, we see that McLaren can compete at circuits where last year we were not competitive. So, we have a very competitive package overall, and this could be very important for Lando in particular in the quest for the championship.”

McLaren last won the F1 constructors’ title in 1998, when Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were at the wheel, while Lewis Hamilton remains the team’s most recent drivers’ champion, having taken the crown in 2008.