Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has weighed in on the rising tensions within McLaren following the costly on-track collision between teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix.
The incident marked the first direct clash between the two McLaren drivers this season, amid what is shaping up to be a fierce intra-team championship battle.
The incident, which saw Norris attempt a late move on race leader Piastri before ending up in the barriers, has drawn comparisons to the infamous 2016 title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes – a battle Wolff knows all too well.
“I’ve seen the movie,” Wolff quipped when asked about the McLaren clash. “I was right in there as an actor.
“It's difficult because it's what drivers are calibrated and conditioned to do: win championships. Particularly in Formula 1.”
Lessons from 2016: Set the Rules Early
Wolff reflected on his own experience managing high-stakes teammate rivalries and stressed the importance of early intervention and clarity from team leadership, before a situation spirals out of control.
“That’s the trick here. Establish how do you want to go about it,” Wolff explained.
“It obviously increases the complexity if the constructor championship is in your hands too because [the team] could always argue, ‘well, we need to win the constructor championship. We need to score these points.’”
“But in that case, they are so far ahead that it’s not even a question whether they will win that. So, it’s certainly a tricky situation.”
McLaren currently enjoys a commanding lead in the Constructors’ Championship, but internal competition between its drivers could risk undermining that dominance if not handled carefully.
A Different Dynamic, A Similar Risk
While the comparison to Hamilton and Rosberg is natural, Wolff pointed out that the personalities at McLaren present a different kind of challenge.
“The characters are very different than they were with us,” he said. “And it’s about strong management to learn that. But we learned it by doing it and I’m sure that these guys will get on top of that.”
Read also:
Brundle: Norris still in title race, but must bring ‘A-game all the time’Both Norris and Piastri have publicly committed to maintaining a strong working relationship despite the intense championship fight. After the race, Norris took full responsibility for the clash, apologizing to the team over radio.
With McLaren under the spotlight and tensions rising in the title race, all eyes will be on how team boss Andrea Stella manages the situation – and whether the advice from someone who’s “seen the movie” might help keep the team’s title dreams on track.
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