Red Bull team principal Christian Horner assumes Lando Norris is the No 1 driver at McLaren because he is "paid five times more" than Oscar Piastri.
Ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren boss Andrea Stella revealed "50-50 calls" would go Norris' way but the British driver was knocked out in Q1 and started the race down in 15th, before recovering well to finish fourth ahead of Max Verstappen.
Piastri took a superb win, which was helped by Norris holding up Sergio Perez during the pit-stop phase, and is 32 points behind his McLaren team-mate.
But Norris is 59 points adrift of championship leader Verstappen with seven rounds remaining and it seems McLaren will aid him when needed.
"Usually those are things that are dealt with behind closed doors, those things, so I'm not actually sure what those rules are. There still seems to be some confusion in them," said Horner.
"Every team is different. Our rules of engagement are very clear and what the focus is until the end of the year.
"We've got a driver that's fighting for the world championship. It's a team sport. So it's very clear that Checo's job is to support Max until the end of the year.
"Different teams operate different ways. When you've got an asset like Max Verstappen, you don't make him a No 2 driver.
"Lando Norris, they're paying five times what they pay Oscar, so I would assume he would be their No 1 driver, or their biggest asset. So, therefore, the confusion comes when you're not up front from the beginning of what your plans are."
McLaren had also previously said they were prioritising the Constructors' Championship, which they now lead by 20 points from Red Bull ahead of this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1.
Piastri is in just his second F1 campaign and has scored the most points of any driver in the last seven races, where Red Bull have been winless.
"I think the other one is causing them headaches because he [Piastri] is winning races and he's doing a very good job," continued Horner.
"It was like when Daniel Ricciardo came to us in 2014. He was clearly meant to be the No 2 to Sebastian Vettel and he won three races that year to Sebastian's none. Sometimes it causes you a headache like that.
"For sure, they took Oscar with the expectation, as Mercedes did with probably George [Russell] and Ferrari did with Carlos [Sainz], that you've got a prime asset and a support asset. And when the second driver starts outperforming the first driver, that's when you tend to have a headache."
Stella: McLaren have two No 1 drivers
McLaren's new team-order rules came after Piastri overtook Norris on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix earlier this month, which enabled Charles Leclerc to overtake Norris and go on to win the race.
Under the new rules, Piastri would not have gone around the outside of Norris and compromised his team-mate.
Stella clarified that McLaren will "lead by principles" and review the situation going into Singapore.
"I think I've said already that we have two No 1 drivers, effectively. Having two No 1 drivers means that we approach things, first of all, in the interest of the team," he said.
"The interest of the team is to win the Constructors' Championship, and yes, it's to win also the Drivers' Championship.
"Lando was in the most favourable position before Baku. I think he's still in the most favourable position. So, more naturally, we would have supported Lando.
"But I think we have evidence that actually, interestingly, it was Lando supporting Oscar and enabling his victory thanks to driving for the team and driving to support his team-mate. So I think that remains our approach.
"We always intended to review after every event with each driver, with the drivers together, what was going to be the best approach for the next races. We will do it and set the plan for Singapore."
Some people think McLaren have chosen to prioritise Norris too late after a controversial Hungarian Grand Prix, where Piastri ended up winning after a radio soap opera in the closing stages.
Horner says McLaren have a good problem but hints they should have backed Norris earlier this year.
"It becomes a very difficult problem to manage, because you split the team, the rules of engagement become very difficult," he said.
"Everybody knows probably who the No 1 and No 2 is, but if you're not up front with the drivers, you end up with confusion.
"So I think going into any race, obviously at the beginning of the season it's all open, but certainly when you get to around the halfway point, you've got to pick a horse, especially if you're in a championship battle."
Stella: Huge milestone to lead Constructors' Championship
McLaren lead the Constructors' Championship by 20 points from Red Bull and have the opportunity to extend their advantage in Singapore.
Red Bull had led the constructors' for 55 consecutive events, dating back to the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, and McLaren have not led the championship since the start of 2014.
"If I look at it for a second, as a milestone that is definitely huge because we don't have to forget that at the start of 2023 we were last at the start of the season, and now we lead the classification," said Stella.
"That's a huge milestone that has been possible thanks to the hard work and quality of work of the entire team, the support from our shareholders, our partners, our fans.
"You achieve this because you achieve it together. At the same time, for my way of going racing and for the way I would like the team to go racing, this second is already over.
"We don't look at the classification, we just focus on executing at every single event, delivering the upgrades that we still plan to take to some of the future races, because the car, as a matter of fact, is still not fast enough to create some boring races.
"That is not in the interest of F1, but it's definitely the way in which we want to go racing. We have work to do in terms of making the car faster and we need to remain humble and keep the feet on the ground, because we see that in fairness, there's not much to pick at all between the four top teams."
McLaren have arguably had the car to beat over the summer European leg of the season after their upgrade at the Miami Grand Prix in May saw them jump in pace to match, or be ahead, of Red Bull.
"When it comes to McLaren, I often hear we have the best car, but this is not in the numbers," continued Stella.
"I think in the numbers, McLaren is the best car in some circuits like Barcelona, Hungary, Zandvoort - for good technical reasons.
"But in Baku, I don't think McLaren enjoyed any advantage over Ferrari, and not even over Red Bull. And at Monza, Mercedes were within the 70 milliseconds between P2 and P6. It's just very, very balanced and I think here the execution by the drivers and the team is what makes the difference."
Sky Sports F1's live Singapore GP schedule
Thursday September 19
12pm: Drivers' Press Conference
Friday September 20
8.15am: F1 Academy Practice
10am: Singapore GP Practice One (session starts 10.30am)
11.55am: F1 Academy Qualifying
1.45pm: Singapore GP Practice Two (session starts 2pm)
3.15pm: The F1 Show
Saturday September 21
8am: F1 Academy Race One
10.15am: Singapore GP Practice Three (session starts 10.30am)
1pm: Singapore GP Qualifying build-up
2pm: SINGAPORE GP QUALIFYING*
4pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook
Sunday September 22
8.30am: F1 Academy Race Two
11:30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Singapore GP build-up
1pm: The SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Singapore GP reaction
4pm: Ted's Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1's thrilling 2024 season continues live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend with more stunning street circuit action, this time under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime
