McLaren heads into Azerbaijan Grand Prix on verge of F1 constructors' title

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The Formula 1 title race is heating up, and McLaren's golden rule — “Let 'em race” — risks expanding into a whole rule book.

Asking Oscar Piastri to give up second place to Lando Norris at the Italian Grand Prix because of a slow pit stop showed how McLaren's seemingly simple approach risks being bogged down in debates about what's fair on track.

The battle between Norris and Piastri will become McLaren's sole focus if the team can wrap up the constructors’ title Sunday at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku with a record seven races remaining.

McLaren leads by 337 points and takes the title if one driver wins and the other is second or third, which would end the faint mathematical chances of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.

It's a big contrast to last year, when McLaren held off Ferrari in the final race of the season to win the constructors’ title for the first time in 26 years. “It’s a pretty remarkable position that we’re in,” Piastri said. “A very proud moment for everybody and myself included.”

It didn't go all McLaren's way in Friday practice after both Norris and Piastri bumped the barriers in the second session.

Norris had to limp back to the pits after hitting the wall with the rear left wheel midway through the session and didn’t come back out, while Piastri had his own brush with the barrier and was 12th, two places behind Norris.

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time, .074 of a second ahead of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, with George Russell third for Mercedes after overcoming an illness to take part.

Norris led the way in first practice by .310 of a second from Piastri, who needed McLaren's mechanics to check a problem with his car. Leclerc was third. The session was stopped for over 20 minutes while damage to a trackside curb was fixed.

Was swapping the cars in Italy the best way for McLaren to make up for a team mistake beyond Norris' control? Or was Piastri punished for something that's “just part of racing,” as he suggested over the radio?

The Monza decision has prompted yet more discussion at McLaren about the best way to race.

“We’ve again had a lot of discussions about how we want to go racing and a lot of that is to stay for us,” Piastri said, adding that giving away the details could allow rival teams to exploit McLaren's approach. "I do think we have enough freedom to control our own destiny in the championship."

That call left Piastri with a lead of 31 points, instead of 37. Expect to hear a lot more about it at the end of the season if that six-point swing decides the title.

“You can’t plan for every single scenario that’s going to happen, but I think we’re very aligned," Piastri said. "Ultimately I respect the team’s decisions and trust that they'll certainly do their best to make the right ones.”

Azerbaijan is a place where team rivalry has boiled over before.

In 2018, it was where up-and-coming challenger Max Verstappen collided with established contender Daniel Ricciardo. It forced Red Bull into a rethink of its “no team orders” approach — not dissimilar to McLaren's “let 'em race” — and set the two drivers on opposite trajectories.

Ricciardo was only on the podium once more that season, lost out to Verstappen by 79 points and left the team at the end of 2018. Verstappen hasn't had a teammate who's challenged him since.

The gap between him and Yuki Tsunoda is vast — 230 points to 12.

Red Bull heads into Azerbaijan widely expected to promote Isack Hadjar, whose podium finish in the Netherlands was an exclamation point in a strong rookie season, to Tsunoda's seat for 2026.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing