Christian Horner insists McLaren got it wrong with team orders drama in Hungary
Red Bull boss says "you have to put your eggs in one basket"
Christian Horner believes McLaren were wrong with their strategy last weekend in Hungary.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won his first F1 grand prix, ahead of teammate Lando Norris, but not without drama surrounding team orders.
A series of increasingly urgent radio calls demanded Norris yield his position back to Piastri - which he eventually did, after many laps of seemingly ignoring them.
However, their Red Bull counterparts think it was wrong not to prioritise Norris.
"Lando is the experienced driver and the No1 driver, I assume,” Red Bull team principal Horner told Sky Sports.
“It's standard practice to give the lead driver the first stop. They could have done that quite easily with Oscar.
"But they gave a two-lap undercut to Lando, so obviously wanted him ahead of Oscar.
“Having put him ahead, it's tough on the driver to say 'we want you to drop behind your team-mate’.
"If this championship is lost by seven points at the end of the year, every point counts.
“Different teams go racing in a different way. But Lando is the closest challenger and you have to put your eggs in one basket, at some point."
Norris is second in the F1 standings ahead of today’s F1 Belgian Grand Prix.
He is 76 points behind Verstappen, who is gunning for a fourth title in a row.
Team orders will be scrutinised again at today’s Belgian Grand Prix.
The starting grid has a competitive feel, coupled with the famous overtaking opportunities that the Spa circuit offers.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen qualified first but will start from 11th due to a grid penalty. He has previously won this grand prix from 14th on the grid.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is on pole, ahead of under-pressure Red Bull driver Sergio Perez.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton is third ahead of Norris, then Piastri.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
