Back in Hungary, we became witnesses to what was one of the strangest strategy calls from a Formula 1 team in recent memory. In an effort to protect their driver against the approaching 7-time world champion, McLaren pitted Lando Norris. It was an unusual call. While it protected the British driver from his competitors behind, it also undercut his teammate and the race leader at that moment – Oscar Piastri.

We all remember what conspired after this: twenty-three laps of uncomfortable and clumsy pleading from McLaren as they beseeched him to return the position to Piastri. For a while, it looked like Norris – who had a championship to consider and important points on the line – was going to deny his team’s pleas. That he was going to take this win for himself, no matter that it was given to him as a result of his team’s blunders and that it was his teammate’s first win on the line.

Between a rock and a hard place, Norris was put in an impossible situation. To risk valuable points and a second race win; to alienate himself from his teammate and his team. No matter what he chose to do, Norris lost either way. There was no right decision to make.

But then, when all hope seemed to be lost that Norris would give up that win, McLaren made him (what could be regarded as) a promise:

“The way to win a championship is with the team. You’re going to need Oscar; you’re going to need the team.”

We don’t know if that’s what Norris believed when he heard those words, but it surely crossed his mind. The promise that, if he did this one thing, McLaren would repay him in the end. Piastri would repay him in the end. That they would help him win the championship when the time came down to it.

Maybe, that belief made the sting of sacrificing his second win that slightest bit easier to bear when he finally slowed down on lap 68.

Assuredly, there’s criticism that could be made of every player during that race. McLaren never should’ve pitted Norris first. Norris should’ve given the position up earlier, allowing him the opportunity to race Piastri and pass him legitimately (when his pace was certainly superior in the final stint). But, what’s more interesting about that moment is what has followed since.

A disappointing performance at the Belgium Grand Prix was soon followed by what Norris needed most: a race win- and at the championship leader’s home track, best of all. Another pole secured at Monza seemed to suggest an upward trend for Norris’ championship hopes, but it quickly fell apart in the first few stages of the Italian Grand Prix.

Norris presumably wasn’t expecting the overtake from his teammate and the surprise appeared to unsettle him enough that Leclerc was able to benefit from the move, also, nipping second place with very little effort. Struggling to keep up with the cars in first and second and sitting in dirty air, Norris pitted early in an attempt to undercut Leclerc – an attempt which appeared successful, initially. A slow stop for Piastri almost handed him the position, but it wasn’t to be and for a while, it seemed like the win was going to be a battle between the two McLaren drivers.

McLaren wasn’t expecting the one-stop from Ferrari. But the decision turned out to be a stroke of genius from the home team and they managed to beat the far superior papaya car despite all odds. A dazzling, unexpected win for the Scuderia, but something far more pressing for the team from Woking. A question seemed to be playing on everyone’s minds. Especially those of Lando Norris’ fans – potentially, even Norris himself.

Namely: when will McLaren be ready to play the first driver game?

Andrea Stella – McLaren team principal – made it clear what the historic team’s thoughts on the matter are. “I don’t think that’s a good way of approaching racing,” Stella said at the beginning of the weekend when asked about a number one driver in the team.

But, does this statement align with the promise they supposedly made in Hungary?

Many have argued that there were strategy calls and decisions that could have been made to assist Norris in his championship battle this past weekend. The drivers could’ve been told to hold positions in the early stages; Piastri could’ve been asked to swap places when it appeared like Leclerc was sure to win the race.

Undoubtedly, there’s issues with both of these suggestions and they stem from one place:

Oscar Piastri.

Because of his evident maturity and Raikonnen-esque approach to racing, oftentimes people forget that this is only Piastri’s second season in Formula 1. The only driver in history to win Formula Renault, Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships in successive seasons, it’s been acknowledged that Piastri is a potential future world champion. He’s fast and he’s smart and he doesn’t appear to let much of anything get to him – the golden paradigm of a champion.

Many expected good things from the Australian rookie in his first year and he proved them right winning his first-ever race during the sprint in Qatar. Though Hungary is controversial, to say the least, he is a race winner within his own right and, without a doubt, there will be more to come in the future for the young Aussie if McLaren keeps up their current form.

Despite all of this, Piastri isn’t the one in contention for the championship this year. With a 106-point deficit between himself and the current leader, it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to cinch the championship by the end of this season.

Instead, it’s his teammate who has the best chance.

Maybe, too accustomed to the teammates of previous and current world champions – Sergio Perez to Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas to Lewis Hamilton – McLaren (and Norris) fans were expecting Piastri to do the same. To play the team game. Especially after Hungary, it appeared like McLaren was preparing Piastri for that inevitably – securing him the win to soothe any resulting bitterness at having to play second fiddle to his teammate.

With Monza a haze of Rosso Corsa behind us, it’s apparent that Piastri will not be portraying this role.

Piastri’s performance this past weekend has been criticised by many who’ve accused him of being a bad teammate and a bad team player. Both of these allegations, however, disregard who and what Piastri is.

First and foremost, Oscar Piastri is a racing driver.

That’s been proven again and again from the very beginning of his career. He’s won championships before and he wants to win them again.

Unlike many other drivers on the grid, Piastri is different. He wasn’t forced to start in a backfield team and he didn’t have to suffer for long in the midfield. Most of the current drivers were given years to prove themselves. Piastri had to do it from the very first race.

Despite McLaren’s poor form at the beginning of 2023, they were and still are McLaren. A team with 58 years in Formula 1, 12 drivers’ championships and 8 constructors’ championships. The second oldest team on the grid and the second most successful after the Scuderia itself.

An impossible weight was placed on Piastri’s shoulders from the very beginning. Having the chance to fight for race wins and championships in only his second year doesn’t help that matter.

It’s for this very reason, therefore, that it seems almost senseless for fans to be questioning why Piastri hasn’t rolled over for his teammate yet this season.

Undoubtedly, Piastri’s reputation is on the line here. He wants to establish himself as a future world champion and despite the fact that letting Norris by might make him a good teammate, it won’t make him a world champion. Other teams will see this; McLaren will see this. And the next time McLaren are in contention for a championship, what will Piastri want them to see when they look at him? A shadow behind Norris, a driver who stepped aside easily to let his teammate win? Or a race winner – a Formula 1 driver to the very core?

He’s not the first to do it; he won’t be the last. What might have been of Lewis Hamilton if he’d behaved differently in his rookie season? If he’d stepped aside for two-time world champion Fernando Alonso? Would he have garnered the same respect? Would he have been as successful of a driver as he is today if he hadn’t proved himself a great one from the very beginning? The type that wouldn’t step aside for his teammate, not even for one who’d beaten the indomitable Michael Schumacher.

At fifteen years old, Charles Leclerc said: 

“It will never be possible that we end up fighting for the title and it’s my teammate fighting for it instead of me.” 

They called him predestined because of it.

Surely, McLaren wants to win both championships this season. But they’re also not stupid.

Forcing Piastri to step aside could isolate him, forcing him to look elsewhere (potentially losing them any future constructors’ championships if they’re made to rely on Norris and whichever driver they can replace him with). They’re not going to force Piastri to play second driver. Not until the very last moment and only if absolutely necessary.

And Piastri- he doesn’t want the perception of him as anything but a future championship contender. Stepping aside for Norris could do that, especially this early in his career.

In Monza, Piastri raced clean and fair. He was the quicker driver in every stint and Norris couldn’t compare. Giving the position to Norris at the end of the race might have been smart if they wanted to prioritise his championship, but it made no difference to the constructors in the end.

The gap between Norris and Verstappen is still significant. Maybe, if it were smaller, McLaren would’ve been more likely to sacrifice Piastri in his favour. But, for the moment, Norris is going to have to fight for this championship on his own merit. At least, until that gap has closed or Stella and McLaren change their minds, after all.

Until that point, Piastri is well within his own right to disregard Norris’ championship for his own selfish ambitions. It doesn’t make him a bad team player, it makes him a racing driver. At the end of the day, we shouldn’t be expecting racing drivers to be anything but racing drivers. Especially ones who have been mentored and are currently managed by one of the few who suffered most as a result of first driver prerogatives as Mark Webber did driving beside Sebastian Vettel. 

As Senna once said, “If you no longer go for a gap you are no longer a racing driver.” Piastri is not yet willing to be the racing driver who doesn’t go for the gap and he shouldn’t be villainised because of it.