McLaren once again find themselves in the midst of drama between their drivers, which is something Christian Horner had plenty of experience of at Red Bull.

During the late 2000s and early 2010s, Red Bull had Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel in their line-up. It gave Horner one of the best driver pairings on the grid, but it did not take long for friction to boil as they fought for the title.

Webber and Vettel clashed numerous times as teammates, including the infamous ‘Multi-21’ incident in Sepang 2013. Tensions first arose in 2010, not long after the pair collided in Istanbul and handed victory to McLaren.

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Christian Horner’s drama with Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel proves why McLaren can’t have two number ones

Speaking via the Kidd in a Sweet Shop YouTube channel, Horner recalled the controversy of the British GP in 2010. Webber won the race, which led to his infamous ‘not bad for a number two driver’ radio in the wake of the team’s front wing drama in qualifying.

“His drive here up at Silverstone with that, ‘Not bad for a number two’. It was one of his best ever drives,” said Horner. “It was a f— you to the team, which felt completely unreasonable, because it was all over a front wing!

“There was only two of them. One of them broke in practice. Mark’s engineering crew decided they didn’t want to use it and then Adrian [Newey] last minute decided, ‘I’d really like to run that front wing’.

“So, Sebastian said, ‘Look, I’m happy to race it if it gives us data’. And so, they put it on his car like 10 minutes before qualifying. I’d been in a bunch of meetings and came out and suddenly there was this atmosphere in the garage just before qualifying.

“‘What’s going on?’ ‘Oh, I’ve put that front wing on Sebastian’s car’, and then suddenly, all hell let loose.”

The situation Horner faced with Webber and Vettel is a similar one to what McLaren are facing now with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The Woking outfit have insisted that they have two number one drivers, but this has only led to conflict.

The McLaren pair have crashed several times over the last few months, most recently in Singapore. Norris collided with Piastri during the Sprint race, leaving the team scoring just one point.

Norris later apologised for his actions, but the damage was done, and it led to further discussions about the rules of engagement. Zak Brown and Andrea Stella were furious after the race and certainly would have rammed home how they go racing.

But McLaren’s ‘papaya rules’ have only caused trouble between their drivers, and it is something that Horner noticed quickly at Red Bull. After Webber left, he realised that he needed to have a clear number one within the team.

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The 52-year-old continued: “I learned at that point, again, there’s this prophecy that you can’t have two number one drivers in a team.

“Of course, we’re giving them both the same kit, both the same opportunity, but as a team you have to set yourself, how do you want to win a championship?

“Two drivers going at each other’s throats, unless you’ve got a massive car advantage, it’s not a conducive way to take on the opposition.

“And so, yeah, from that point, after Mark left, I thought it was really important to be clear with the drivers of what the expectations were, because otherwise, you just end up in a mess.”

McLaren must take the same approach Horner did and establish a clear order between the drivers. Having two number ones is detrimental to their championship aspirations, as proved last year as Norris almost lost the title to Max Verstappen.

Now, they risk losing P3 in the constructors’ standings. Brown and Stella must decide a clear number one driver, which may have to result in Piastri leaving McLaren, as many F1 fans want him to.