Do McLaren have an internal problem following their Hungarian GP team orders saga?

The McLaren F1 team were enjoying a comfortable afternoon at the Hungarian Grand Prix with Oscar Piastri leading from teammate Lando Norris up until Lap 46.

Their decision to stop Norris first proved to be the turning point in making it an uncomfortable ending for McLaren.

That’s crazy to say given they secured a 1-2 finish at the Hungaroring but they made life very difficult for themselves.

McLaren’s conservative approach on the pit wall meant they stopped Norris first to cover off Lewis Hamilton, while Piastri came in for fresh rubber two laps later to give him a comfortable tyre delta on Max Verstappen.

It meant Norris had taken the lead of the race, undeservedly so because he was behind Piastri for the previous 48 laps.

McLaren were effectively forced to beg Norris to surrender the lead with race engineer Will Joseph repeatedly in his ear as the British driver pulled away from his t eammate.

Norris eventually obliged, paving the way for Piastri to take his maiden F1 victory.

In Norris’ eyes though, he was always going to give the position back.

He said in the post-race press conference, where Crash.net were present in the paddock: “I know what I'm going to do and what I'm not going to do. Of course, I'm going to just question it and challenge it, and that's what I did. Yeah. I was going to wait until the last lap, the last corner.

“But then they said if there was a Safety Car all of a sudden, and I couldn't let Oscar go through, then it would have made me look like a bit of an idiot. Yeah, then I was like, ‘yeah, it’s fair point’.

“And I let him go, two to go or something. And straight away, I let him go. So yeah, I mean, that's just your opinion of what you hear. But that's the same with all sports.

“You can make what you will of what you hear and what you think you know and that kind of stuff. But I know that I always was going to give it back unless they changed their mind on what they were saying. And they didn't. So all good.”

Did Norris make the right decision?

With Verstappen enduring a difficult afternoon finishing fifth, it was the perfect opportunity for Norris to capitalise.

Had Norris won in Hungary, Verstappen’s gap at the top of the standings would have been just 69 points, and with McLaren growing into the ascendancy, those seven points might be vital come the end of the season.

However, as team boss Andrea Stella was quick to point out afterwards, Norris will likely need Piastri’s help at some point in the future if he is to topple Verstappen in this year’s championship race.

Stella said to Sky Sports: “For a driver, if you want to be competitive in the championship - Lando in particular, who is in the stronger position - he will need the support of Oscar and the team. That’s how we are moving forwards.”

While Norris' decision to obey team orders in the short term is a painful one - in terms of not winning again and the title race - the trust between him and Piastri remains there.

Had Norris put his own interests first, his relationship with Piastri at least would have completely broken down.

And while it’s not uncommon for superstar drivers to disobey team orders, Norris isn’t a world champion or even a multiple race winner so risking that level of disruption, thinking long term, wouldn’t have been wise.

There might be a time Norris needs to disobey the team in the future, but Sunday wasn’t it.

A wider McLaren issue

The team orders saga has detracted from McLaren’s outstanding turn of speed this weekend.

For the first time this year, McLaren made the most of their package to score maximum points, cutting Red Bull’s lead down to 51 points in the constructors' standings.

But the whole team orders issue was self-inflicted and reflects a wider issue within the team.

McLaren, operationally-speaking, have consistently below-par in terms of their strategy calls - Canada and Britain, for example - and you can now add Hungary to that list.

McLaren’s indecisiveness and conservative approach continues to cost them and it’s something they’ll need to turn around if they are to win either title this year.

Hungay was a great weekend for them but one that could have easily turned a lot more sour. 

Will McLaren prioritise Norris? 

With 11 rounds remaining of the season, Norris sits 76 points behind Verstappen.

That means on average, Norris needs to out-score Verstappen by seven points at each of the remaining 11 races.

Given McLaren’s upward trajectory relative to Red Bull, it’s not impossible.

But, team boss Andrea Stella is refusing to declare which of their drivers is the outright “number one”.

“I think when you have Oscar and Lando, we are in the lucky enough position that we don't really need to decide who is a number one driver, which is a way of simplifying things for some people, like myself, and it's a way to frustrate the entire team, the ambition and the way we go racing, which is deep in our ethos,” he explained.

“We race fair and if one of the two drivers gains on merit a result, this is protected. Maybe if it's the last couple of races and there's a strong championship interest for one of the two drivers, we may revise this.

“But what I'm expecting is that… Is the other driver coming to me and saying if you need my help with the other driver because he is in the championship competition, I'm available.

“And I think you build this ethos if you manage days like today in a fair way like I think we have done.”

If the gap reduces significantly again after Spa, it will no doubt be a top of discussion going into the second half of the year amongst McLaren's top management as they look to take their first title since 2008.