McLaren are in a very fortunate position to have two number one Formula 1 drivers. While it is very advantageous in several cases, such as making a push for the constructor championship, there can be some potential downsides.
When both of your drivers are competing for the driver’s championship, the situation becomes far more delicate. Zak Brown appreciates the position both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are in, and it is one the team handled rather well throughout last season.
However, tensions quickly heightened towards the end of the Canadian Grand Prix, as Lando Norris attempted an ambitious overtake on Piastri, which resulted in the British driver crashing and being unable to finish the race.
The team will let things play out, for now
Andrea Stella let the world know that Piastri and Norris will be allowed to race for the time being, but the team will be more wary moving forward. Given the fact that McLaren will almost certainly win the constructor championship, their focus will be on making sure one of their drivers wins the world championship.
A potential issue that could arise is that further on-track battling could harm both drivers. Contact between the two could cause them to tumble down the order and even lose out on valuable points. It will be taken on a race-by-race basis. With McLaren once again likely to be very quick in Austria, there is a strong possibility that Norris and Piastri could battle again.
As we are not too far away from the mid-point in the season, the current driver standings put Norris in an interesting position. The gap between him and Max Verstappen is 21 points, while the gap between himself and Piastri is 22 points.
With the Dutch driver still very competitive, on-track antics may bring McLaren to a point where they may need to prioritize a driver if they want to win both titles. While we are still far away from that point, it is not out of the question for later on in the season.
Team orders may be the beginning of an implosion
Another issue that could arise from having two number one drivers is being forced to treat one of them like a second driver, like what Kimi Antonelli is to George Russell. Prioritizing one can easily make the other feel disrespected, and that may be how Norris would feel if McLaren were forced to block his challenge to Piastri.
Though both drivers are contracted to McLaren for the long haul, one may want to move elsewhere if the team is forced to pick a number one driver. Openings at Ferrari, Red Bull, and even Mercedes are bound to become a reality in a few seasons' time.