According to Christian Horner, McLaren made a mistake with their strategy last weekend in Hungary.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri secured his first F1 grand prix victory, with teammate Lando Norris finishing second, amidst drama surrounding team orders.
There were multiple urgent radio calls for Norris to give up his position to Piastri, which he eventually did after initially disregarding them for many laps.
However, Red Bull’s opinion is that McLaren should have prioritized Norris.
“Lando is the seasoned driver and the primary driver, I assume,” stated Red Bull team principal Horner in an interview with Sky Sports.
“Usually, the lead driver gets the first pit stop. They could have easily done that for Oscar.
“Instead, they gave a two-lap undercut to Lando, clearly indicating they wanted him ahead of Oscar.
“After positioning him ahead, it’s challenging for the driver to be told to drop behind their teammate.
“If the championship is lost by just seven points at the end of the year, every point matters.
“Different teams have different approaches to racing, but Lando is the closest competitor and at some point, you need to focus on one driver.”
Norris is currently second in the F1 standings ahead of the F1 Belgian Grand Prix today.
He trails Verstappen by 76 points, who is aiming for his fourth consecutive title.
Team orders will be under scrutiny once again during today’s Belgian Grand Prix.
The starting grid promises a competitive race, especially with the overtaking opportunities that the Spa circuit provides.
Despite qualifying first, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will start from 11th place due to a grid penalty. He has previously won this race from the 14th grid position.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is on pole, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in second place under pressure.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton starts in third position followed by Norris and Piastri.
