The “friendly” rivalry that could cost McLaren the title
Ah, the McLaren drivers, those beings of light and speed who, instead of competing against other teams, decided that it was more fun to crash against each other. Yes, because why fight against Ferrari or Red Bull when you can turn your car into a game of bumper cars? In the Canadian Grand Prix, the papaya-colored cars showed that the real enemy is in the same garage: they touched each other, kissed (violently) and, as a result, the British Lando Norris was left without points, while the Australian Oscar Piastri took the opportunity to move away at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. Romance? No. Strategy? Neither. Absolute chaos? Bingo!
Mercedes, the team that has already experienced this soap opera
And like in any good repetitive plot, the veteran arrives to give unsolicited advice. Toto Wolff, the brain behind the Silver Arrows, watched the disaster from afar and, with the wisdom of someone who already lived through the drama Hamilton vs. Rosberg in 2016 decided to drop pearls of wisdom. “I saw that movie too,” he said, as if McLaren were starring in a cheap remake of his own golden age of tantrums. “It’s difficult, but drivers are made to win championships… mainly in Formula One.” Thanks, Toto, for clarifying that F1 drivers want to win in F1. Revolutionary.
The Austrian, with the subtlety of an elephant in a china shop, suggested that McLaren should focus on the constructors’ championship to justify its decisions. “This way they can say that they desperately need the points,” he explained, as if the engineers did not know that their job is, precisely, to score points. Or did they think they were in a painting contest?
The problem of being too good
And here comes the most delicious irony: McLaren is so superior this year that their biggest threat is themselves. “They are so far ahead that it’s not even a question of whether or not they will win the title,” Wolff acknowledged, almost enviously. Of course, because when your car is a spaceship and your rivals are racing with tricycles, the only thing that can ruin you is… surprise! Your own drivers. Norris and Piastri, the “heroes” of this season, have such different personalities that they make Hamilton and Rosberg seem like conjoined twins. The result? More friction than on an ice skating rink.
But Wolff, in a burst of optimism (or sadism), assured that McLaren will learn to deal with this. “We did it too,” he said, conveniently omitting the years of therapy they had to pay for later. In the end, the moral is clear: in F1, success gives you wings… but it also puts two glory-hungry drivers in the same car. And that, dear fans, is the best reality show in the world.
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