Red Bull team principal Christian Horner assumes Lando Norris is the number one driver at McLaren because he is "paid five times more" than Oscar Piastri.
Despite Norris being the leading driver in the drivers’ championship standings and the highest-paid racer in the McLaren stable, it has been Piastri who has shone of late.
The Australian claimed his second career win in Baku last time out and has now scored more points (135) in the European leg of the season than any other driver.
Piastri is now 32 points behind Norris in the standings, having taken five top two finishes in his last seven races for the British-based team.
Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren boss Andrea Stella revealed the team would favour Norris in a bid to topple Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship.
However, Horner rebuffed McLaren's claim that they have two number one drivers, suggesting Norris is being paid significantly more than Piastri.
"Usually those are things that are dealt with behind closed doors, those things, so I'm not actually sure what those rules are," said Horner.
"There still seems to be some confusion in them.
"Every team is different. Our rules of engagement are very clear and what the focus is until the end of the year.
"We've got a driver that's fighting for the world championship. It's a team sport. So it's very clear that Checo's job is to support Max until the end of the year.
"Different teams operate different ways. When you've got an asset like Max Verstappen, you don't make him a No 2 driver.
"Lando Norris, they're paying five times what they pay Oscar, so I would assume he would be their number one driver, or their biggest asset.
"So, therefore, the confusion comes when you're not up front from the beginning of what your plans are."
Thanks to McLaren's success in Baku, they now have a 20-point lead over Red Bull in the constructor's championship.
The British-based team now lead the standings for the first time since 2005, but their way to the top has not come without its problems.
During the Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris initially refused to hand first place back to Piastri before team orders were eventually followed to give the Australian his maiden victory in the competition.
But with McLaren's comments about prioritising Norris for the last seven races of the season, Horner believes that decision should have come much sooner.
"I think the other one is causing them headaches because he [Piastri] is winning races, and he's doing a very good job," continued Horner.
"It was like when Daniel Ricciardo came to us in 2014.
"He was clearly meant to be the number two to Sebastian Vettel, and he won three races that year to Sebastian's none. Sometimes it causes you a headache like that.
"For sure, they took Oscar with the expectation, as Mercedes probably did with George [Russell] and Ferrari did with Carlos [Sainz], that you've got a prime asset and a support asset.
"And when the second driver starts outperforming the first driver, that's when you tend to have a headache."
Ricciardo to leave RB with Lawson named as replacement
Daniel Ricciardo will leave RB with Liam Lawson replacing him for the remainder of the Formula One season.
Speculation surrounding Ricciardo's future has been confirmed as the Australian's second F1 stint was brought to an end after he lost his seat at RB.
Ricciardo is 14th in the drivers' championship standings, while he recorded the fastest lap during last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix - the 258th and final race of his F1 career.
The 35-year-old has chalked up eight wins and 32 podiums along the way, notably finishing third in the drivers' championship in 2014 and 2016.
Lawson, who deputised for the injured Ricciardo in five races last season, will step up from his reserve role to partner Yuki Tsunoda for the final six races of the 2024 campaign, starting at next month's United States Grand Prix in Austin.
The 22-year-old recorded an impressive ninth-place finish in Singapore during his short stint, and RB boss Laurent Mekies feels it will be "a natural transition" for him.
"Everyone would like to thank Daniel for his hard work across the last two seasons with us," Mekies said.
"He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit.
"Daniel has been a true gentleman both on and off the track, and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family.
"I'd also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the team well. He drove for us last season, and coped well under difficult circumstances, so it'll be a natural transition.
"It's great to see young talent from within the Red Bull family make the next step. We're looking forward to getting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together."
Norris: Overhauling Verstappen for F1 championship 'definitely possible'
Lando Norris believes overhauling Max Verstappen to win the Formula One driver's championship is "definitely possible", though he knows McLaren have no room for error.
Norris produced a magnificent performance at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, leading from the front and finishing some 20 seconds clear of Verstappen.
That victory – his third of the year – lifted him to within 52 points of Verstappen at the top of the drivers' standings, while McLaren lead Red Bull by 41 points in the battle for the constructors' crown.
Norris has now won from pole in two of the last four races (Singapore and the Netherlands), becoming the 49th driver to achieve that feat on at least two occasions in F1.
In the last 30 grands prix in which Norris has scored points, he has averaged 15.3 points (460 in total), having only averaged 6.8 across his previous 66 (452 in total).
With Verstappen now winless in eight races, Norris does not see ending his three-year reign as an impossible objective, if McLaren can maintain their pace.
"This is what I've got to do, this is what I need, this is what we need to do as a team," Norris told Sky Sports F1.
"We've executed things perfectly as a team, especially to get Oscar [Piastri] into P3, but we need to do it at every race until the end of the year if I want to have a chance to get Max.
"We're working hard and if I keep doing what I've done this weekend, then it's definitely possible."
Verstappen won 19 of 22 races in the 2023 season – the most dominant campaign ever witnessed in F1 – but Norris hopes he can take this year's title battle to the final race, set for Abu Dhabi on December 8.
"I hope so. I still have a lot of points I've got to catch up and it's not going to be easy to do it," Norris added.
"It's against Red Bull and it's against Max, the most dominant pairing you've ever seen in Formula One, from last year.
"That's not necessarily changed in terms of… It's the same team and it's the same driver. So, I have some of the toughest competition that Formula One has ever seen.
"I'm working my heart out, I'm working my butt off, to try and make sure that happens. He's trying to make sure it doesn't happen. So we'll have to wait and find out."
Red Bull would be 'foolish' not to target Russell, says Horner
Red Bull would be "foolish" not to consider an approach for George Russell when his Mercedes contract expires next year, says team principal Christian Horner.
While three-time world champion Max Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until 2028, the poor form of team-mate Sergio Perez has cast doubt on their lineup.
Perez started 2024 with four podium finishes in his first five races, but he has since endured a run of 13 outings without a top-three finish to slip to eighth in the drivers' championship.
Russell is set to become Mercedes' lead driver for 2025 when Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari, but with the Silver Arrows' team principal Toto Wolff repeatedly talking up the possibility of moving for Verstappen, his long-term future is in doubt.
With Russell's contract expiring after next season, Horner says Red Bull could swoop for him to fill a "gap" between their current drivers and those coming through their academy.
"We've got a gap now but we just want to take time to consider what those options look like for the future," Horner told Sky Sports F1.
"And we're not afraid to go out of the pool. You know, George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration.
"There are other talented drivers that could well be out of contract as well."
Russell claimed his second F1 race win in Austria earlier this year and currently sits seventh in the drivers' standings, 11 points ahead of Perez.
Horner's comments on Russell were put to Mercedes boss Wolff, who accused his counterpart of "stirring".
"He is always stirring s*** up on his part," Wolff said. "It's part of the game.
"George is a Mercedes driver, has been forever and hopefully will be forever. He has a long contract with the team."
The Silver Arrows endured a frustrating outing at last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, Hamilton finishing fourth and Russell sixth after early difficulties with the team's split strategy.
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