OSCAR PIASTRI CLEARS UP LANDO NORRIS TEAM ORDER RULES AS FAMOUS MANAGER GETS INVOLVED

Oscar Piastri has explained that manager Mark Webber was 'very involved' in discussions about his supporting role for the remainder of the 2024 season. The Australian will play second-fiddle to Lando Norris as the Brit targets a maiden Drivers' Championship title.

The Australian heads into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix having outscored Norris in four of the last six races. But with only 62 points separating his team-mate from championship leader Max Verstappen, the decision has been taken to prioritise the Brit for the remainder of the year.

However, the 23-year-old has no plans to sacrifice his campaign for Norris completely. "I'm happy to play a supporting role at this point of the season," he confirmed ahead of the race in Baku. "I think any earlier in the season it would have been probably excessive.

"I think now it's an appropriate time to try and help the team win both championships." He went on to add: "The main point is it's not purely just going to be me pulling over for Lando every single race. That's how none of us, including Lando, want to go racing."

Fortunately for Piastri, he had a valuable figure by his side during discussions about his role over the coming eight races. Manager Webber has first-hand experience of the damage that a 'second driver' tag can have on a career.

The former Red Bull driver was forced to watch on as Sebastian Vettel took the plaudits during their time as team-mates, and even lost out on a race win at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix when his German colleague disobeyed team orders, leading to the legendary "Multi-21 Seb" incident in the cooldown room.

"He's been very much involved in the discussions with myself and the team," Piastri explained. "Some of the team orders and team disputes [he experienced] have been a very, very different set of circumstances to what we have.

"There's not been any direct advice on 'This is what happened last time, blah, blah, blah'. It's always been about trying to work collaboratively with the team on what we are willing to do in support, what I'm not willing to do so much, and more that kind of guidance."

For Piastri, there is little chance of him being swept aside into a No.2 driver role in the long term. The young Aussie has demonstrated impressive pace during his 18 months in the sport and has been marked out by many as a future world champion.

2024-09-13T09:09:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd