Lando Norris has stated that McLaren has not implemented any “major changes” to its strategy-splitting policy ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.
It comes after the team was accused by fans of favouring Norris over Oscar Piastri after the former utilised an alternative one-stop strategy to defeat his team-mate in Hungary.
Piastri and Norris arrive in the Netherlands separated by just nine points at the summit of the Drivers’ standings as the F1 2025 season resumes this weekend.
Norris claimed victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier this month after turning to a one-stop strategy following a poor start.
The decision vaulted Norris into the lead, with the 25-year-old beating Piastri – on a more conventional two-stop strategy – to the chequered flag by just 0.698 seconds.
Norris’s victory in Hungary came just seven days after he was fitted with the more durable hard tyre in Belgium, where Piastri won on mediums.
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com in Hungary, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella denied that the team’s strategy was unfair on Piastri, admitting the team viewed the two-step as the favoured choice and “didn’t think necessarily that the one-stop was possible.”
McLaren is set to win its first Drivers’ title since 2008 this season, with Piastri currently holding a 97-point advantage over Red Bull driver and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen in third.
Asked if McLaren has considered changing its policy of allowing its drivers to split strategies to prevent potential controversies as the title race hots up, Norris insisted that his Hungarian Grand Prix win was “a bit of an outlier” as he did not expect to be challenging for victory.
And he admitted that both Norris and Piastri are keen to ensure that they retain freedom to race each other – including from a strategic perspective.
He told media including PlanetF1.com at Zandvoort: “No, I think at the minute things have not really changed.
“I think Budapest was a bit of an outlier. My decision to go on to the one stop was more (about getting back into podium contention than chasing the win).
“You’d have to be pretty daft if I was to box, after everyone else ahead of me had boxed, just to follow suit and do nothing different. You don’t need to even be smart to do something different.
“It was more to get ahead of George (Russell) to give myself an opportunity to be ahead of him at that point – not necessarily to try and win the race at that point.
“It was pretty amazing that it turned out that way and was a perfect result.
“I didn’t make that decision at the time thinking: ‘OK, this is my race and I can try and win it now’.
“Maybe it was not a perfect harmonic race between us as a team because it didn’t kind of fall exactly into the place of what we would normally go by.
“But at the same time, I think it was just an example of what can happen in racing sometimes.
“I think we both want, as drivers, things not to be overly strict and we don’t want to just not be able to race, because we’re also here as individuals to race and improve (and find out) who can do a better job.
“So of course there were discussions. There’s been reviews of things all along the season.
“Every race we make tweaks to things and we have a good understanding as a team. That happens every time. That happened after Budapest.
“There’s no major changes, but we still have a Constructors’ (title) to win and that’s priority at this point.”
Norris added: “I did roll the dice, yes. I’ve certainly had a little bit of luck.
“I’ve also been unlucky, but that’s life. I can’t choose those things.
“I’m lucky that I’ve been with McLaren for the last seven years. I could not be with McLaren as well for the last five years.
“So I’ve also made good decisions. I like to believe, and I back myself that I made good decisions along the way and good decisions this year.
“I’ve improved as a driver this year.
“I’ve had a car which I found a lot trickier to drive, just as much as everyone complains when they have a car that doesn’t suit them or doesn’t drive as well as what they would like.
“I had that a little bit at the beginning and made some good steps forward to come back and have some good races.
“I would not have won in Budapest if I didn’t improve on those myself.
“And that was not luck. That’s hard work, that’s a lot of dedication with my engineers and my team, both at the track and away from it.
“So I would say I have had a little bit of luck here and there. Everyone needs a little bit in their life, but so has probably every other driver at some some races here and there.
“But I’ve also made good decisions. I’ve kept myself out of trouble, stuck by the rules.
“All of these things are part of being a racing driver and at times they gave me points, so that’s also a down to me doing a good job at times.”
