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Oscar Piastri finished second and Lando Norris third at Monza.Credit:Getty Images

As has been the case for much of the season,their development rate seems to be outpacing if not their ambition exactly,then at least their own perception of where they are. They need to recognise they are in contention for two championships and take the hard decisions.

Piastri benefited from Norris following team orders – though it looked like he might not – at the Hungarian Grand Prix,which secured him a maiden victory. That should give McLaren some cash in the bank if the request came in for him to play second fiddle to his teammate. Not that it makes it an easy discussion.

These opportunities do not come very often for McLaren.

McLaren clearly want the drivers to be able to race on track. Stella,from his lengthy time at Ferrari,knows all too well the consequences and bad feeling that can come from insisting onteam orders and engineering results between two drivers. This far out in the championship it can become complicated and messy,and has the potential to create disorder,which eventually comes at the team’s expense.

Stella and his team should be given enormous credit for even being in this position. But such is the fickle and volatile nature of F1,there is no guarantee they will be in as good a place in 2025 as they are now.

Keeping driver harmony is important,but the bottom line of any team is winning championships.

Though the constructors’ championship brings in the money,the drivers’ title brings in the glory. Who really remembers or cares that McLaren’s last drivers’ championship in 2008 was not backed up with the constructors’? McLaren must now start making the difficult decisions.

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