A landmark 1-2 finish by McLaren in Hungary concluded amidst widespread controversy after Lando Norris considered disobeying repeated team instructions to let Oscar Piastri finish first.
The directive emerged because McLaren had pitted Norris, the pole-sitter, first - even though Piastri, who found himself behind his teammate post-pitstop, had been leading from the start.
"I didn't want us to fall behind a Mercedes or Ferrari," team principal Andrea Stella justified the decision. "Like what happened to Max Verstappen."
The pitlane and paddock reactions were strong and mixed.
"Norris robbed of Hungary victory," proclaimed Blick newspaper. "McLaren invents a problem," critiqued the Spanish newspaper AS.
Former Red Bull racer Robert Doornbos also criticized Norris, who had already been deemed 'too nice' to ever be champion earlier in the weekend.
"I don't know how far you get by being a gentleman," Doornbos told Ziggo Sport. "That means you're not a killer. He doesn't have that killer instinct.
"The team messes it up and then he had to clean up the mess."
However, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz provided a different perspective: "From what I've just been told, they did what had to be done. If they give a free undercut to your teammate, you have to give it back. It's something that, in the past, not all teams have done."
His boss Frederic Vasseur concurred: "The decision in the first place was a bit harsh on Piastri, then they took a decision that I can understand."
Before ultimately relinquishing the lead to Piastri, following repeated and increasingly desperate pleas, Norris voiced his frustration over the radio: "I'm fighting for a world championship here."
Emma Kimilainen, a female racing driver, commented on Viaplay: "What on earth is McLaren doing? Max Verstappen is 76 points ahead of Norris in the world championship, so theoretically the only driver who can beat Verstappen is Norris. Why wouldn't they maximize his points? Secondly, he was the faster driver," she added.
Mercedes' Toto Wolff observed that McLaren is essentially relearning how to handle high-stakes situations visibly at the forefront of the grid.
"Clarity in the team is important and they are learning it now," he stated. "They've moved so quickly into a position where they can win with both cars that they have to stick to the rules they already have.
"Andrea is showing great leadership, it's just something new."
2016 world champion Nico Rosberg opined: "It was not well managed. They are in a new situation and they are not used to dominating. But they have to get used to it, and very quickly."
Ralf Schumacher echoed the sentiment: "We're talking about seven points. Let's see what they're missing at the end of the year."
From McLaren boss Stella's viewpoint, though Norris was initially very reluctant to cede the position to Piastri, he eventually executed it flawlessly.
"When you're leading the race and have such a conflict, you want to show the pace you have," he explained. "That's good and that's what racing drivers do. And I want to manage racing drivers.
"So this is the car and the character of the driver that I want to see, but they also have to understand the team's demands. Lando showed both today - as a racing driver and as a team player." body check tags ::
