Oscar Piastri explained he would be willing to follow team orders to help out Lando Norris in his championship battle after claiming pole position for the Sprint at the Brazil Grand Prix.
Piastri surged to the front row for Saturday's Sprint, edging McLaren team-mate Norris in the final moments, after the Briton had led proceedings throughout.
Norris was pipped by two hundredths of a second, though is in prime position to close the gap to Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings.
Verstappen finished fourth, but is set to face a five-place grid drop for Sunday's race after Red Bull elected to change his power unit for the sixth time this season.
Norris is currently 47 points behind the Dutchman in the drivers' championship, with this weekend offering the perfect opportunity for him to close the gap at the summit.
Despite his impressive effort, Piastri confirmed that the team is his priority, and he will focus on their overall result before they switch attention to the grand prix on Sunday.
“We’ll see what the pace is like for both of us tomorrow. I think first and second is the first objective, and then we’ll see what order it is," Piastri told Sky Sports.
“I know that I’m not in the running for the drivers’ standings and for the team, it doesn’t matter which way around we are. I know that’s the case and we’ll see.”
Quizzed further on whether he would give up the win outright, he added: “Yes. I’ve said I would from when we first had these discussions.
"It would be nice to win, but it’s one point difference, and it’s not the main race so we’ll see.
“Lando needs the points in the drivers’ standings a lot more than I do, but of course I still want to win.
"So if I put in the effort and have good pace, I’m sure that won’t go unnoticed, but let’s see.”
Charles Leclerc completed the top three for Saturday's sprint, with Verstappen just behind, while Carlos Sainz, the winner at the Mexican Grand Prix last weekend, took fifth.
Mercedes' George Russell came in sixth, while the Alpine of Pierre Gasly finished seventh.
Liam Lawson, Alex Albon and Ollie Bearman, who replaced the unwell Kevin Magnussen at Haas for the Sprint, rounded out the top 10.
Max Verstappen has dismissed critics of his tussles with Formula One title rival Lando Norris ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Verstappen was on the receiving end of two separate 10-second penalties following a pair of incidents with Norris during last weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.
He was given one penalty for pushing Norris off at Turn 4, and another for leaving the track and gaining an advantage as he reclaimed track position over his rival.
The moment came after the title contenders had been involved in another battle in Austin a week prior, which saw Norris handed a 10-second time penalty.
Verstappen's racing tactics have come under the spotlight following two incidents in the last two races, but he labelled those critics as "annoying" and "biased".
"I don't listen to those individuals. I just do my thing," Verstappen told Sky Sports. "I'm a three-time world champion. I think I know what I'm doing.
"People that are objective and close to me. And not just there to stir.
"Some people are just being very annoying, and I know who these people are. I don't really pay a lot of attention to them anyway.
"And I think I've got to this stage of my career with the right people supporting me and making my own decisions. So, I think I know what I'm doing."
Verstappen leads the drivers' championship by 47 points over McLaren's Norris, though the upcoming sprint this weekend offers the Briton an opportunity to close the gap.
But Verstappen could be on the end of another penalty in one of the final four races of the season, after reports of Red Bull giving him a new engine surfaced.
Those reports came after the three-time world champion was plagued by issues in Mexico, as he was forced to switch to another engine in his existing pool.
"I haven't heard anything yet," Verstappen said. "It's not [been] discussed. But I know that I will have to take one at some point, so we'll see."
With the overtaking opportunities on offer in Brazil, this weekend could be the best opportunity for Verstappen to get back on track.
He has now gone nine races without a pole position and 10 without a win, his worst streak since the penultimate round in 2020 when he went 17 qualifying rounds without a pole and 11 consecutive races without a victory.
Quizzed on whether this circuit, where he won in 2023, could be the ideal chance for him to return to winning form, Verstappen said: "Honestly, it's something that is always unknown.
"You think that one particular track is the best place to take an engine or whatever penalty, but it's never guaranteed. It's a possibility."
DRIVERS TO WATCH
Max Verstappen – Red Bull
While much of the conversation off the track has been on Verstappen's aggressive driving, he will be hoping to do his talking on the circuit this time around.
The Dutchman emerged victorious at Interlagos last year. However, the same driver has not won the Brazilian Grand Prix twice in a row since Nico Rosberg did so for Mercedes in 2014 and 2015.
Verstappen also has the fourth-most points at the circuit (136), behind only Fernando Alonso (139), Sebastian Vettel (154) and Lewis Hamilton (185).
Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
This weekend could be an emotional one for Hamilton, who returns to a track where he made history in 2008.
Saturday marks 14 years since Hamilton became world champion for the first time in his career, finishing fifth in Sao Paulo after passing Timo Glock on the final lap to snatch the victory away from Ferrari's Felipe Massa.
On the anniversary of his first title success, the Briton will also get behind the wheel of Ayrton Senna's title-winning McLaren between races, marking 30 years since the Brazilian's death.
The winner in Brazil has started from pole position in eight of the last 10 races, though Hamilton's triumph in 2021, in which he started 10th, and Vettel's second place start in 2017 are the only exceptions.
Only Michael Schumacher, Carlos Reutemann (both four) and Alain Prost (six) have more wins in Brazil than Hamilton (three, level with Vettel), and he will be looking to cap a memorable weekend with his third victory of the season.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 362
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 315
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 291
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 251
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 240
Constructors
1. McLaren – 566
2. Ferrari – 537
3. Red Bull – 512
4. Mercedes – 366
5. Aston Martin – 86
Lando Norris believes his 2024 Formula One season will be classed as a success regardless of whether he beats Max Verstappen to the drivers' championship.
Ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas this weekend, Norris is 52 points behind the Dutchman at the top of the standings.
Norris won his third race of the season last time out in Singapore four weeks ago, gaining seven points as he finished just ahead of Verstappen, who has won the last three championships.
But the 24-year-old has never finished higher than sixth in the drivers' championship, with this season marking significant progress whatever happens in the final six races.
As a result, Norris is conscious that success should not be defined by whether he and McLaren end the season with silverware.
"We're fighting against the best of the best but no matter what, it has still been a successful season," he said. "If I finish second it's because Red Bull and Max have done a better job.
"We started [the season] a long way behind. Everyone thought Max was going to have an easy win.
"For that not to be the case after the gap they had after race one, it's still a year to be proud of.
"But as the season goes on, you always reevaluate what are our expectations, and now we are a top team and fighting for drivers' and constructors' championships.
"I've been doing a good job. I have been happy with the job I have been doing and what we are doing as a team, and confident if we keep our heads down and keep pushing, we can close the gap.
"It's not easy, we need more than me first and Max second, but I can't change that, just keep my head down and focus on myself."
Given the current gap between Norris and Verstappen, the British driver will require other drivers to finish between them in the final races of the season to claw back the deficit.
Verstappen has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, his worst run since an 11-race streak in 2020, and only finished second in three others.
Norris, meanwhile, only needs to earn two points in Texas to become the driver with the most points in the history of McLaren and surpass Lewis Hamilton's tally of 913.
Max Verstappen believes McLaren's Oscar Piastri is "too good" to be asked to support Lando Norris in his bid for the Formula One drivers' championship.
Verstappen leads the way despite not winning in his last eight races, but has seen his lead cut to 52 points by Norris ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix.
As the season has progressed, McLaren's improvements have been significant, and they lead Red Bull in the constructors' standings as they aim to win their first team title since 1998.
The British-based team are sticking to their general approach of having two equal drivers, though that has changed as Norris edges closer to clinching a maiden world title.
McLaren said they would prioritise Norris over Piastri in his attempts to end Verstappen's three-year reign as champion.
"He's definitely not a [number two driver] and if I was him I would never accept it," Verstappen said.
"For me, it's easy to talk, of course, because I've been in F1 for 10 years and it's Oscar's second season, so it is always harder to put your foot down.
"But he's just a great F1 driver who doesn't deserve it to give up wins and positions and play second fiddle because he's asked to."
Verstappen did, however, praise McLaren for their rapid rate of development over the past 18 months, and for how Norris and Piastri have proven a formidable combination.
Asked if the pair was the best driver line-up among Red Bull's competitors, he replied: "Yes, because they are closely matched and because they are both quick.
"McLaren has really put the right people in the right place, people that were already working at the team.
"The people there aren't all new hires, apart from people like [former Red Bull designer] Rob Marshall.
"But some staff have been given new roles, and you can see how quickly that can have an impact."
DRIVERS TO WATCH
Lando Norris – McLaren
After finishing second in Austin last season, Norris will be hopeful of going one better this time around to close the gap to Verstappen in the drivers' standings.
Norris has scored 912 points in his F1 career, all of them with McLaren. If he scores at least two more in the United States, he will become the driver with the most points in the history of the team, surpassing Lewis Hamilton's 913.
The Briton has scored 460 points in the last 30 races in which he has won points in the competition (15.3 average), eight points more than in the previous 66 (452 - 6.8 average).
McLaren will also be looking to extend their lead at the top of the constructors' championship, too.
They have had one or both of their drivers on the podium in each of the last 14 Formula 1 races. This is their second best-ever run in the competition (surpassing two streaks of 13), behind only the 19 between Australia 2007 and Malaysia 2008.
McLaren now have 18 podium finishes in 2024, their best record in a season since 2011 (also 18). In fact, in only four years have they achieved more (20 in 1998, 22 in 2000, 24 in 2007 and 25 in 1988).
Max Verstappen – Red Bull
Verstappen will contest his 204th race in F1 this weekend.
Twelve of the last 13 winners in Austin have started from the front row of the grid, seven from pole position and five from second, though Verstappen is the only exception, having won from sixth place last year.
However, the three-time world champion has now gone seven races without a pole position and eight without a triumph - his worst respective streaks since the penultimate round in 2020, when he went 17 qualifying rounds without a win and 11 consecutive races without a victory.
If either Verstappen or Sergio Perez scores points this weekend, Red Bull will have put at least one of their two drivers in the points for 62 consecutive races, equalling the third-best run in F1 history (Mercedes' 62 on two occasions; between Brazil 2012 and Russia 2016, and between France 2021 and Saudi Arabia 2024).
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 331
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 279
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 245
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 237
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 190
Constructors
1. McLaren – 516
2. Red Bull – 475
3. Ferrari – 441
4. Mercedes – 329
5. Aston Martin – 86
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."
Andrea Stella believes "the mission is on" for McLaren in their quest for both championships this year after Lando Norris' dominant showing at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Norris claimed his third career win on Sunday, finishing 20 seconds clear of title rival Max Verstappen to move within 52 points of the Dutchman in the drivers' standings.
The Briton's emphatic triumph, coupled with Oscar Piastri's third-place finish, also saw McLaren extend their lead over Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
Norris led the race from start to finish, becoming the 60th different driver to do so in a Grand Prix, having struggled off the mark in recent races when starting on pole.
With six races and three sprint sessions remaining in the season, the momentum is very much in the cockpit of the McLaren driver, though Verstappen can finish second to Norris in every event left and still win the title.
However, team principal Stella believes that despite Verstappen's sizeable margin in the drivers' championship, that both titles are still up for grabs this season.
"It’s not always going to be that easy in the next few races," Stella said.
"But it’s very promising, and it is also promising that Oscar [Piastri] found a way to beat the two Mercedes today, got back on the podium.
"Many points for the championship and definitely the drivers’ championship is still on, the mission is on.
But with Verstappen finishing second despite struggling in Friday's practice sessions, McLaren have a difficult task in trying to outscore the Dutchman in the final six races of the season.
The next leg of the Formula One season takes place in Austin on October 20, a race that Verstappen has won for three consecutive seasons, with his trio of victories a total only bettered by Lewis Hamilton (five) around the Texas circuit.
"Hopefully we’ll have a few more [wins] in the next six races. Yeah, fully deserved by Lando. In fairness, he’s been very quick throughout the weekend," Stella continued.
"I think yesterday, he was very conscious in his Q3 lap.
"We thought that by pushing 100% we could have gone even faster, so everything just came together this weekend.”
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."
McLaren's Oscar Piastri labelled his victory at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix the most stressful afternoon of his life after claiming his second career win in Formula One.
Piastri, who started second on the grid, emerged victorious ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to put McLaren at the summit of the constructors' championship.
The Australian's team-mate, Lando Norris, managed a fourth-place finish in Baku having endured a difficult qualifying that saw him start in 17th on Sunday.
Piastri's triumph saw him move up to 222 points in the drivers' championship, and he is now 13 points behind Leclerc in third place.
The McLaren driver performed a huge lunge on the inside on lap 20 to take the lead from the Monegasque, defending admirably to secure the victory in Azerbaijan.
“I tried at the start of the race to get in front but once I dropped out of DRS I just didn’t have the pace,” said winner Piastri.
“After the stop, I saw we were pretty close again and I felt like we had a little bit of extra grip.
"I had to go for it because I knew that if I didn’t get past at the start of the stint, I was never going to get past.
“I went for a pretty big lunge but managed to pull it off and then hang on for dear life for the next 35 laps.
"The last couple of laps, once [Leclerc] dropped out of DRS, were a little bit more relaxing, but there’s no such thing as a relaxing lap around here so it was hard work.
"It definitely goes down as one of the better races of my career.”
Piastri (two) and Norris (two) are the first pair of drivers to get two wins in the same season for McLaren since 2012 (Lewis Hamilton, four, and Jenson Button, three).
The Australian's victory also continued the British-based team's record of having one or both of their drivers on the podium in each of the last 13 races.
It equalled their second-best run in the competition (13, which they recorded on two other occasions, between the United States and Portugal in 1990, and Germany 2011 and China 2012).
Up next on the F1 calendar is the Singapore Grand Prix, a race that saw Norris claim second last year, with Piastri finishing down in seventh.
Lando Norris wants to try and topple Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship on merit, despite McLaren confirming they will prioritise the Briton over Oscar Piastri.
Norris, who is currently 62 points behind Verstappen ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend, is looking to bounce back from his second-place finish in Monza.
The Dutchman has not won in his last six Grand Prix's, which is his worst run since the end of the 2020 season, but Norris has only closed the gap to him by seven points in the standings.
McLaren's team principal Andrea Stella revealed the team would "bias" their operations towards Norris as they seek to win the drivers' and constructors' titles this season.
"I don't want to be given a championship," Norris started.
"Yes, it would be great to have a championship, and in the short term you feel amazing, but I don't think you'd be proud of that in the long run.
"It's not how I want to win a championship."
Norris has shown his ability to challenge the three-time world champion on track this season, with the Briton finishing on the podium 10 times so far.
The pair also locked horns at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Norris and Verstappen colliding on lap 64, forcing the former to retire in what could prove to be a pivotal moment in deciding who claims the drivers' championship.
Norris needs to gain an average of just under eight points a weekend over the remaining eight Grand Prix's to beat Verstappen to the title but wants to do it the right way.
"I want to win it by fighting against Max and beating Max, beating my competitors and proving I'm the best on track. That's how I want to race," Norris said.
But both Norris and Piastri played down the idea the Australian might be asked to sacrifice a win for his team-mate.
Norris said: "Probably not. In general, probably for lower positions, but if he's fought for a win and he's deserving of a win, then he deserves to win.
"Oscar is still fighting for his own racing, he's still going out and doing his stuff. And it could be that there's no time this year that he needs to help me.
"It's more that I've got Oscar's help when needs be, but he's still going out with that intent of every session of fighting for himself."
"The team have asked me to help out, and I've said for the last few races that if I was asked, then I would," Piastri added.
"Of course, naturally, as a driver, it's never an easy thing or a simple thing to agree to. But again, there's a much bigger picture in play than just myself.
"It still needs some more discussions, but the main point is it's not just going to be me pulling over for Lando every race because that's how none of us, including Lando, want to race.
"Trying to go through all the scenarios is impossible. We don't want to discuss that publicly, but the main one is if we feel one has done a much better job on a weekend, whichever way it is, we want that person to be rewarded.
"And that's where it becomes a little bit tricky still."
McLaren are set to prioritise Lando Norris over team-mate Oscar Piastri in their bid to win both Formula One championship titles, starting in Baku this weekend.
McLaren currently sit second in the constructors' championship, eight points behind Red Bull, with both Norris and Piastri also in the top five of the drivers' standings.
Having tossed and turned about how to attack the final eight races of the season, the British-based team have opted to back Norris ahead of the Australian.
However, Andrea Stella said the decision to back the Brit in dethroning Max Verstappen would only happen within the team's principles of sportsmanship and fairness.
"The overall concept is we are incredibly determined to win, but we want to win in the right way," Stella said.
Norris arrives at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix off the back of a third-placed finish in Monza, coming in six seconds behind team-mate Piastri.
But Norris was able to add 16 points to his drivers' championship tally, closing the gap to Verstappen to 62 points after the Dutchman finished in sixth.
Piastri finds himself 106 points behind Verstappen, but Stella continued to reiterate McLaren's 'papaya rules'.
"We [will] bias our support to Lando but we want to do it without too much compromise on our principles," he said.
"Our principles are that the team interest always comes first. Sportsmanship for us is important in the overall way we go racing.
"And then we want to be fair to both drivers."
Until now, McLaren had allowed Norris and Piastri to race each other without interference from the team.
But a series of meetings at McLaren have resulted in a shift in policy after failing to capitalise on a one-two in qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix last time out.
Norris, who started on pole, endured another slow start out of the blocks, allowing Piastri to narrowly squeeze past his team-mate on the opening lap.
But in doing so, it allowed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to position himself between the two McLarens, with the Monegasque eventually roaring to victory on Italian soil.
"What we don't want to see any more is a situation like in Monza in which we enter a chicane P1/P2, and we exit P1/P3, because that is a detriment to the team," Stella said.
"The team interests come first and these are the situations that above all we need to fix, because eventually, as a matter of fact, the way we entered the race in Monza left the door open for this situation.
"After Monza, three objectives: we need to make sure that anything that happens on track is not to the detriment of the team.
"Second objective, how do we win both championships, both drivers committed to help? But what we don't want to do is win in a reckless way.
"Those are the three topics and they define the way we go racing in Baku. This will be updated after Baku."
Verstappen triumphed in seven of the first 10 races of the 2024 season, with the Dutchman looking destined to run away with the drivers' championship once again.
But Red Bull's recent struggles on the track have been alarming, with Verstappen now six grands prix without a victory (his worst streak since the penultimate GP of 2020 when he went 11 in a row).
It has allowed Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren to catch up in the respective championship standings, with Red Bull left bemused as to why a once-dominant car has seen its performance drop so dramatically.
But another team's misfortune has certainly been McLaren's gain, with Stella assuring that both Norris and Piastri were onboard with the shift in philosophy.
"The conversations have been very collaborative," Stella concluded.
"Even when I said to Oscar: 'Would you be available to give up a victory?' He said: 'It's painful, but if it's the right thing to do now, I will do it'.
"Every driver is hard-wired to go for a victory. So I am always very impressed by the level of team spirit and maturity and collaboration that we found in this period."
DRIVERS TO WATCH
Lando Norris - McLaren
With all the talk surrounding Norris ahead of this weekend's race in Baku, the Brit will be keen to make amends and continue his pursuit of Verstappen.
For the first time in 2024, Norris has finished ahead of the Dutchman in two straight races. Throughout Verstappen's dry spell, the Brit has only closed the gap on him by seven points in the drivers' championship, though.
While Norris' full focus will be on closing the gap to Verstappen, he has the opportunity to put himself among the elite British racers to have competed in the competition.
The 24-year-old is one podium away from equalling Stirling Moss and John Surtees to enter the top 10 of British drivers with the most podiums (24).
If he does achieve that feat, David Coulthard (62) and Eddie Irvine (26) will be the only British non-world champions who have achieved more podiums than Norris in the history of F1.
But there is also a lot at stake for McLaren. They are now just eight points behind Red Bull in the constructors' standings, knowing a better finish than their opponents will see them top the rankings for the first time since Brazil in 2005.
And they have reason for optimism too. McLaren have seen one or both of their drivers stand on the podium in each of the last 12 races in the competition.
Should they do so again in Baku, it will equal the team's second-best run in the history of the competition (13, which it recorded on two other occasions, between the United States and Portugal in 1990, and Germany 2011 and China 2012), only behind a sequence of 19 between Australia 2007 and Malaysia 2008.
Sergio Perez - Red Bull
No one saw Red Bull's recent struggles coming after a dominant start to the season, but they could spring a surprise with a driver who relishes the Baku street circuit.
Sergio Perez is still waiting to add to his five wins he has managed with the Austrian-based team, but he may be confident of adding to that tally in Azerbaijan.
This weekend's grand prix will be the circuit's seventh appearance in the F1 calendar, with the Mexican the only driver to prevail twice around the Baku track (2021 and 2023).
In fact, it is the only grand prix where the Mexican has won more than one race in his career.
Given his impressive form in Azerbaijan, Perez has also scored the most points (100) in Baku, the only track on which he has reached the 100-point mark.
Only a Lewis Hamilton victory and fastest lap would see the seven-time world champion overtake Perez this time around (75 points for Hamilton).
However, the Mexican has now gone 10 consecutive grands prix without finishing in the top five of the standings, the same number of times as in his previous 41 races in the competition.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 303
Lando Norris (McLaren) - 241
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 217
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 197
Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 184
Constructors
Red Bull - 446
McLaren - 438
Ferrari - 407
Mercedes - 292
Aston Martin - 74
Zak Brown insisted that McLaren's papaya rules were made to be bent after Monza reignited the debate over whether team orders are needed at the British-based team.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris claimed second and third behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with the latter enduring another poor start after securing pole in qualifying.
The Australian was able to make his way past his McLaren team-mate heading into Turn 4, with Piastri ultimately able to finish ahead of Norris at the end of the race.
However, McLaren recorded their fourth-best ever run of having one or both drivers on the podium (12), while also closing the gap in the constructors' championship.
The gap to Red Bull now stands at eight points ahead of Baku in two weeks, with Norris also closing the gap to Max Verstappen to 62 points in the drivers' championship.
But in allowing their drivers to fight, McLaren opened the door for Ferrari to pounce, but Brown defended Piastri's move on his team-mate in the opening exchanges.
“It was aggressive, it was an aggressive move [by Piastri],” Brown told Sky Sports F1 after the race.
“Their start was great and that was what we had discussed, kind of get behind the other and fan out to make sure nobody else could get by.
“I think Lando was caught by surprise with that move, thinking let’s just tuck into a one-two and see if we can pull a bit of a gap, so it’s something we’ll discuss internally.
“Papaya rules are it’s your team mate; race him hard, race him clean, don’t touch, that happened.
"It was an aggressive pass so that’s a conversation we’ll have, that was a bit nerve wracking on pit wall but it’s really just respect your team mate.
"Lando got a bad run out of that corner as well so it would have been nice to see them run one-two a bit longer.
"They didn’t touch, it was an aggressive pass but a clean pass.”
Despite McLaren's recent success, Ferrari's triumph at their home race has brought them back into contention for the constructors' championship and are just 31 points further back.
The British-based team have failed to win the title since 1998 when Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard worked together to deliver their eighth constructors' title.
However, Brown remained firm in his assessment that McLaren would not prioritise one driver over the other for the remaining eight races of the season.
“They are both young drivers who want to win. We have always believed in having two number ones," Brown said.
"That’s always been McLaren’s way, it can be difficult to manage – we’ve seen it with Senna and Prost.
“They get along great, they do race each other clean and it’s philosophical – are you a one-car team or a two-car team?
"The easiest thing would have been for Lando to just run away with it, and then not have to put difficult decisions on the pit wall, but Andrea and I are taking it one race at a time.”
Lando Norris admitted his pole position at the Italian Grand Prix was "a surprise" after McLaren secured a second qualifying one-two of the season at Monza.
Norris, who is aiming to become the first McLaren driver since Lewis Hamilton in 2010 to win consecutive races, looks good to close the gap to championship leader Max Verstappen, who finished in seventh.
The Briton was just 0.109 seconds ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri, with Mercedes' George Russell 0.113s off the pace in third after an incredibly tight Saturday session.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fourth and fifth for Ferrari at the team's home event, with Hamilton in sixth.
Sergio Perez enjoyed a better qualifying session this time around and will start the race in eighth, while Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.
Norris pipped Piastri by just 0.035s on his first lap in the top-10 shootout, before improving his time on his second attempt despite not being happy with his lap.
"To have a first and second when the field is as tight as it has been all weekend is a little bit of a surprise, but a nice one," Norris said.
"My lap, it hurts me to say it, was not a great lap. My first one was. But still good enough for pole and still very happy.
"There are a lot of quick drivers behind in quick cars, so I am not expecting an easy race. Plenty of question marks but a lot of excitement, I'm sure."
Verstappen, however, struggled with balance in the final qualifying session, having been expected to battle the two McLarens after a strong showing in Q2.
The three-time champion described the car as "shocking" at one point, and will have to come from midfield to claim a first win since the Spanish Grand Prix.
Should the Dutchman fail to win at Monza, it will be the first time since the 2020 season he has gone six races without a victory. He had a run of 11 winless races in a row that year from Spain to Sakhir.
"Q3 was very bad on both of my tyre sets. I just picked up a lot of understeer so I couldn't attack any corners any more," Verstappen said.
"I had to back it out a lot mid-corner and you lose a lot of lap time like that.
"Somehow in Q2 it wasn’t that bad. I did a 1:19.6 at that point and we were almost the quickest. We know our limitations and problems but at that point I think we had it fairly under control.
"But I went into Q3 and the balance was completely out, and I don't really understand how that happened."
Qualifying results
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
7. Max Versappen (Red Bull)
8. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
9. Alex Albon (Williams)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
Andrea Stella insisted that placing full focus on Lando Norris as McLaren's number one driver was "not a good approach" for the last nine races of the Formula 1 season.
Norris, who won his second career race at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, closed the gap to Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship to 70 points.
His dominance was emphasised by the result, finishing 22.896 seconds in front of Verstappen, the largest winning margin by a driver since Lewis Hamilton in 2021.
Norris' McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri finished fourth in Zandvoort, largely blamed for being caught up in traffic, which meant finishing behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
The Australian currently has 179 points in the drivers' championship standings, 46 behind Norris, and claimed his maiden win in the competition in Hungary back in July.
However, the triumph did not come without its controversy, with Norris initially ignoring team orders to hand first place back to Piastri before eventually cooperating.
Zak Brown said afterwards that deciding whether to install a number one driver was up to Stella, but the Italian said the pair would be treated equally.
"I think when it comes to these conversations about being the number one, I don't think that's a good way of approaching racing," Stella said.
"We'd rather approach racing from fairness, integrity, and then see what come from this kind of approach."
Piastri is the current driver on the grid with the best run of Grand Prix's finished (19). If he finishes in Monza, he will become only the second McLaren driver to finish 20 races in a row in F1 after his current team-mate Norris (21 between Abu Dhabi 2022 and Sao Paulo 2023).
McLaren's improvements have seen them have one or both of their drivers on the podium in the last 11 races.
The Italian Grand Prix offers the team a chance to record their fourth best-ever run in the competition (12), with eyes on their first constructors' title since 1998.
"The first target is to win the Constructors' Championship," Piastri said.
"I think naturally, if we're closing the gap in the constructors', there's probably a good chance that we're both closing it in the drivers' [championship] as well.
"I'm not that far behind Lando in the standings either, so of course if the call comes later in the year and it's a realistic shot, then I'll do my part for the team.
"But I think at the moment, the gap is big for both of us so we'll focus on just trying to do the best job that we can and see where we end up a bit later in the year.
"I think for me the biggest thing is just trying to maximise every weekend.
That gives the team the most opportunities for the constructors', that gives me the most opportunities for whatever occurs in the drivers' standings.
"If there's an opportunity for myself to win the drivers' standings, then I'll try my best to make sure I'm there."
Lewis Hamilton believes his weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix is "done" after being knocked out in the second qualifying session.
He has also since been hit with a three-place grid penalty after he was deemed to have intentionally impeded Sergio Perez during the first session.
As such, he will now begin the race in 15th instead of the original starting position of 12th.
Hamilton was already left frustrated by his performance in qualifying and wrote off any chances of him earning a fourth podium in as many races.
"It just went downhill like a domino effect from the moment with Checo [Perez], then the balance just got more and more snappy, more and more 'oversteery' – it was terrible," he said before being hit with the grid penalty.
"It's definitely very, very frustrating, naturally, but it is what it is. It's kind of the weekend done, and I'll have to move on to next week [at Monza].
"I think ultimately, if everyone had had a dry P3, we probably would have done a bit of a better job with the set-up, maybe, for qualifying, but still, I think just [the] performance wasn't there from my side."
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen will start his home Grand Prix from second after being pipped to pole position by Lando Norris by 0.356s.
It is the first time he has not started top of the grid at Zandvoort since the race's reintroduction to the calendar in 2021, while he is aiming to win the Dutch Grand Prix for the fourth consecutive year.
While Verstappen still had some complaints about the lack of pace in his car, he was optimistic that he could challenge for the title on Sunday.
"I think the whole qualifying we just lacked a bit of pace," the reigning world champion said. "I tried the best I could. I'm still very happy of course to be on the front row.
"I'm happy with second. I think after Friday as well this is a good result.
"We'll give it a good go. Of course, when you're more than three-tenths behind in qualifying, I think we have to be realistic. I'll just try to have a good race tomorrow."
Alex Albon was disqualified from Dutch Grand Prix qualifying after his floor body failed technical checks.
He had qualified in eighth, but will now start at the back of the grid with Williams teammate Logan Sargeant, who did not compete in qualifying after a heavy crash in the final practice session.
Lando Norris claimed pole for the Dutch Grand Prix but expects Max Verstappen to "put up a good fight" in his home race.
The McLaren driver had cemented himself as the favourite following promising practice sessions and produced a stunning lap to edge the Dutchman by 0.356s in the final round of qualifying.
It is the first time that Verstappen will not start on pole at Zandvoort in his career and will face stiff competition as he aims for a fourth-straight win in the Netherlands, with Oscar Piastri behind him in third and Mercedes' George Russell in fourth. Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez rounds out the top five.
While Norris had been self-critical in the lead-up to the mid-season break, he was much more optimistic about his chances of claiming a second-ever Formula 1 victory at Zandvoort.
"An amazing day. It's nice to be back and start with a pole. It was a nice lap, honestly," he said after qualifying.
"The qualifying was always pretty smooth, and I put in some good laps, especially the one at the end, which is always the most important. A great job by the team, and I'm happy.
"It's not easy, but I felt comfortable out there, the car was feeling amazing. We've got some upgrades on the car for the first time in a while and everything's working very well, so a big thanks to the team too.
"I'm sure it's going to be tough. Max has been quick all weekend. I know we got him today, but he's still second, and he's going to be putting up a good fight, especially at his home race. I'm looking forward to it."
Charles Leclerc, in sixth, is Ferrari's sole representative in the top 10, while Alex Albon finished eighth, in between the two Aston Martin drivers, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll seventh and ninth respectively.
Pierre Gasly finished 10th, while Lewis Hamilton will start 12th after being knocked out in the second session after a mistake on the penultimate corner of his final lap.
The seven-time champion also faces a stewards' investigation to see whether he impeded Perez in the first qualifying session.
Top 10
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
8. Alex Albon (Williams)
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
