Oscar Piastri must take McLaren team orders ‘on the chin’, says former British F1 star
Exclusive: Mark Blundell, who raced for McLaren in 1995, has his say on this year’s world championship and the ‘growing pains’ of his former team as Lando Norris looks to chase down Max Verstappen
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Your support makes all the difference.Former F1 driver Mark Blundell believes Oscar Piastri will have to take any McLaren team orders “on the chin” as Lando Norris eyes a stunning 2024 title triumph in the races ahead.
Norris, a championship contender for the first time this year, cruised to victory in Singapore on Sunday to narrow the deficit to leader Max Verstappen to 52 points, with six grands prix and three sprint races remaining.
With a total of 180 points still up for grabs, the chase is most certainly on for the 24-year-old but events in recent months – both in Hungary and at Monza – between Piastri and Norris have undoubtedly cost the British driver valuable points.
Now, in the wake of McLaren team principal Andrea Stella’s recent comments that the team would “bias their support” towards Norris, Blundell believes it is time for the Australian to play his part in what represents a golden opportunity for a double championship triumph.
“They’re all team players and they have to be,” Blundell, who raced for McLaren in 1995, says. “There’s going to be times that he [Oscar] will have to take something on the chin and understand it’s for the bigger picture.
“But he’s got a huge future in front of him and a huge amount of time on his side. If McLaren keep doing it car-wise, it’s giving them a winning grand prix car – and then it plays out for both of them.”
In Monza, McLaren issued a call labelled “papaya rules” to signal racing was allowed between their two drivers but with no risks. The likes of Jacques Villeneuve were highly critical of McLaren’s instruction but Blundell insists it is just part of the learning process given the Woking-based team’s lengthy time away from the front of the grid.
“I think it’s just growing pains,” Blundell, speaking on behalf of Freebets.com, explains. ”The success is now coming on track and they’ve realised they’ve got an incredibly strong line-up of drivers and young talent. It’s now a case of understanding what they do next.
“We’ve always had team orders. That’s always been about, whether or not it’s out in the public domain and see and hear it on track... that’s something a little bit different.”
McLaren now lead the Constructors’ Championship by 41 points as they bid to win the teams’ title for the first time in 26 years. After a four-week break upcoming, the next race is the United States Grand Prix in Austin on 20 October.
Blundell, 58, raced for one solitary season – 1995 – for McLaren alongside Mika Hakkinen; a year which would prove to be his last in Formula One. Prior to that, he completed three seasons in the sport with Brabham, Ligier and Tyrrell, claiming three podium finishes in South Africa, Germany and Spain.
Having raced alongside Hakkinen, who would go on to win the title twice with McLaren in 1998 and 1999, Blundell understands the mentality of a world champion and believes the advantage remains very much with Verstappen for this very reason.
“Max understands how to win a world championship, he’s done it several times now,” Blundell adds. “I also think there’s a case of just knocking in the points and keeping that advantage.
“As long as the advantage is not diminished too much with the breadth of results, I think Max will take it home. But if Lando can be right next to him and see it go down to the wire, then brilliant.”
Mark Blundell was speaking courtesy of Freebets.com, the home of betting sites.
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