\u201cManaging Formula 1 drivers that compete for the same team on a fast car and in a quest for the championship is always going to be a difficult matter,\u201d said McLaren<\/a> team boss Andrea Stella during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. \u201cBut so far we have approached it in a way that I think has allowed both drivers to express their qualities, their speed, and it’s been a relatively good run so far.\u201d<\/p>\n Stella well knows the challenges, having begun his F1 career as a performance engineer at Ferrari<\/a> when Michael Schumacher<\/a> was in his pomp. While Michael was indisputably the number one, the subordinate role did not sit well with Rubens Barrichello<\/a> all the time.<\/p>\n For instance, insiders have subsequently revealed that during the infamous 2002 Austrian Grand Prix meeting, Barrichello had (grudgingly) agreed during a pre-race meeting to swap places with his team-mate if he were leading. But Rubens then had to be reminded of this repeatedly and with growing insistence during the race, and in protest he waited until almost the last moment to execute the swap.<\/p>\n The move would have attracted comment at any point in the race \u2013 but doing it with the chequered flag virtually in sight generated maximum controversy, and team orders were subsequently banned. It was the racing driver equivalent of a \u2018dirty protest\u2019.<\/p>\n Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F2002, follows team orders and takes over team mate Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari F2002<\/p>\n Photo by: LAT Photographic<\/p>\n Stella had a more senior role at Ferrari \u2013 Fernando Alonso<\/a>\u2019s race engineer \u2013 when team orders returned to the public agenda in 2010 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. There, another case of malicious obedience as Felipe Massa<\/a> was given the not very securely encrypted message \u201cFernando is faster than you\u201d.<\/p>\n Again, insiders have subsequently sketched a picture of turbulence behind the scenes, with both drivers raging over the radio and Massa even upping his pace to avoid having to move over. The scenario here was more nuanced, since Massa didn\u2019t regard himself as the subordinate despite being 31 points behind in the drivers\u2019 championship, but that season was a classic case of close competition where every point counted.<\/p>\n At the moment McLaren leads the constructors\u2019 championship with 362 points, more than double the total of Ferrari, its nearest rival. The situation in the drivers\u2019 standings is much closer, with Piastri on 186 points, Norris on 176, and Max Verstappen<\/a> on 137. Arguably they have yet to achieve definitive escape velocity from George Russell<\/a> (111) too.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why any sign of apparent rancour between the two is the subject of speculation and gossip, since F1 history is amply stocked with examples of championships lost through team-mates taking points off one another. So far this season there has been nothing in the order of Norris having to be begged to move over in Hungary<\/a> or Piastri barging through on the opening lap at Monza<\/a>. But Norris\u2019s attempt to get a tow from his team-mate during qualifying in Spain, and Piastri\u2019s brusque swerve to cut it off \u2013 remarking afterwards on the radio that Norris had been \u201ccheeky\u201d \u2013 did hint at febrile undercurrents.<\/p>\n McLaren\u2019s current policy is to promote open communication between its drivers while emphasising what it expects from each of them. Obviously it isn\u2019t possible to anticipate every possible scenario or draw up a flowchart of who does what if one driver\u2019s front wheel is slightly ahead of the other on the approach to the apex, so the onus is on Piastri and Norris to act like adults.<\/p>\n \u201cIt [qualifying] was a minor situation,\u201d said Stella. \u201cWe always tell our drivers, don’t leave anything in the back of your mind. Anything, throw it out. Say what you think.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this case, Oscar’s comment was to highlight a situation that we didn’t discuss before. In itself it’s not anything too controversial but we sort of did not discuss that before and we don’t want to surprise our drivers with situations that we didn’t discuss before.<\/p>\n Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren<\/p>\n Photo by: Sam Bagnall \/ Motorsport Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cSo a little bit to take on for the team rather than for the drivers. We have to do some more homework and be ready even more for the coming races which surely will be interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n What McLaren wants to avoid is a scenario such as the one that developed at Williams<\/a> in 1986, where Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet mixed on a personal level like oil and water and took points off one another on track, enabling Alain Prost to stay in striking distance and ultimately win the title.<\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/open-uri20120928-18508-1t8opl5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Lando](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/lando-norris-mclaren-oscar-pia.jpg\")
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