Jenson Button in Lando Norris plea to McLaren as Michael Schumacher comparison made
McLaren head into the United States Grand Prix in pole position for the Formula 1 constructors' title, though Lando Norris is still chasing Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship
by Daniel Moxon · The MirrorMcLaren have been told to "bite the bullet" and give Lando Norris whatever he needs to take the title fight to Max Verstappen.
The Briton is 52 points adrift of the Red Bull racer with six rounds remaining, starting with this weekend's Sprint event in Austin. But although McLaren have said they will "bias" their strategies towards Norris, they remain reluctant to make him their number one driver Oscar Piastri.
The Australian is fourth in the standings after an impressive second season in Formula 1, but former McLaren man Jenson Button believes the time has come for Piastri to play second fiddle. He said: "I love that there are no team orders because, as a racing driver, you hate them.
"But, at some point, if you want to win a world championship, you need to favour one driver. Especially at this point in the championship when every single point counts right now for Lando, if he has any opportunity of becoming a world champion in 2024. He needs every single point.
"That's even using Oscar to grab the fastest lap, if Max has got it, in a race. It's a really tricky situation for the drivers in a team and for a team, but it's got to happen. That's the reason why Ferrari won so many world championships with Michael Schumacher, why Sebastian Vettel won so many world championships.
"Sometimes, you've got to bite the bullet and favour one driver, especially at this point in the season. Oscar has done an amazing job this year, but Lando has more points and a good amount more points, so if the team wants to win not just the constructors' but the drivers' as well this year, it's what is going to have to happen."
Verstappen and Red Bull began the season in dominant fashion with seven wins from the first 10 Grands Prix. But his most recent success came at the Barcelona race in June and, since then, McLaren have largely been the ones with the quickest cars on track.
Button, the 2009 champion with Brawn GP, is fascinated by Red Bull's drop in performance to the point McLaren are now firm favourites for a first constructors' title since 1998. He added: "At the start of the year, yeah you would have picked the Red Bull.
"I remember testing in Bahrain and everyone was like, 'Here comes Max, half a second, seven-tenths quicker than anyone and it just was every time he jumped in the car the pace was there and it just seemed easy. It's amazing how quickly things can turn around when you are so far into a regulation - there have not been any regulation changes - I'm amazed that we've seen such a difference throughout the season from teams.
"I don't know if that's Red Bull losing their way a little bit, not getting the upgrades they had hoped for or going in a direction that hasn't worked for a car. You start trying wild things with the car when it's not working and sometimes it can push you in the wrong direction."
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