Button: McLaren interference makes things complicated

The incident Button referred to, which reignited internal tensions within the team, saw Norris and Piastri collide for the second time this season after earlier contact in Canada. Norris has since admitted there would be “repercussions” for his actions, while McLaren boss Andrea Stella has tried to keep both drivers focused on the remaining rounds.

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 ahead of Sprint Race Qualifying at the United States Grand Prix, Button praised the intensity of the championship fight but warned that team-imposed boundaries could have unintended consequences: “We love a good fight for the championship,.

“In terms of performance, they’re both putting it out there, putting it on the line, which is great to see. Obviously, when the team gets involved in how hard you can push your team-mate and the repercussions of what happened at the last race, it gets a little bit complicated then, especially in-house.”

Button noted that intra-team clashes are part of Formula 1’s competitive fabric, but context matters: “You are always told by your team boss, the one thing you don’t do is crash into each other, which you don’t want to do with your teammate anyway. Normally it’s a telling-off after and you move onto the next race. It’s not like they are fighting for 10th and 11th, they are fighting for the World Championship.”

Button argued that both drivers deserve freedom to race without excessive constraints. “This might be the only opportunity these two drivers get to win a World Championship or fight for one,” he said. “They need to be given every opportunity possible. Maybe it’s something like Oscar is allowed to choose when the first pit stop is.”

However, he cautioned against creating too many internal rules: “The problem is when you start putting rules in place, your eye is off the ball a little bit. As soon as you start tensing up in the car and you’re not racing as you would normally, that’s when incidents can happen.”

Button defended Norris’s aggressive move in Singapore as the right instinct for a title contender: “It’s a really tricky one. For Lando, he had to make that move – that was such an important move for him. That could be winning the world championship or not. He did the right thing, it’s just what happens now with him.”

As McLaren prepare for Austin, the internal dynamic between Norris and Piastri remains under scrutiny — and Button’s comments highlight the fine line between management and micromanagement in a title-contending team.