McLaren Team Principal Delivers Verdict On Close Lando Norris And Oscar Piastri Battles

Saajan Jogia | Sep 2, 2024

Andrea Stella, Oscar Piastri, Zak Brown, and Lando Norris / McLaren Press Image

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella expressed that he welcomes close battles between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, as witnessed at the Italian Grand Prix, provided the outcome ultimately benefits both the team and the drivers.

At Monza, Piastri seized the lead from his pole-sitter teammate Norris in the first lap of the race. The battle between the two lasted a short distance, which allowed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to capitalize and maneuver his SF-24 F1 car between the two MCL38s, pushing Norris down to third.

The Monegasque driver eventually clinched victory at the Italian Grand Prix, with Piastri and Norris securing second and third, respectively. This strong podium finish has significantly intensified McLaren's battle with Red Bull in both championship standings, especially as the Milton Keynes outfit continues to struggle with balance issues on its RB20 F1 car.

Red Bull carried its strong form from the previous year into the new season, but a mid-season upgrade on the RB20 introduced complications that caused a notable drop in performance. As a result, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez finished sixth and eighth at Monza.

Despite McLaren knowing that Norris trails Verstappen by 62 points, Stella did not hand out team orders to let Norris go past Piastri. Doing so could have shortened the gap to Red Bull not only in the Drivers' Standings but also in the Constructors' Championship, with the current difference being 8 points.

Stella emphasized that he welcomes the intense intra-team battles and looks forward to more close racing in the upcoming races. However, he also suggested that he would not hesitate to intervene if the outcome of such battles threatened the team’s or drivers' interests. Speaking to the media, he said:

"The drivers were close together, but this is because they were close together on the grid. So for me, I welcome, and I look forward to having many more of these situations. What we need to do is to make sure that in these situations, the outcome is the one that works best for the team and for the drivers."

The team principal explained further, stating that if the need arises, help will be offered to the driver in the best position to challenge Verstappen, hinting at Norris. He told Motorsport.com:

“We are fighting Max Verstappen, so I think if we want to give support to one driver, we definitely have to pick the one that is in the best position.

“And also Lando, he's been doing very well, like pole position in Zandvoort, pole position here [in Monza].

“If anything with Lando, we need to adjust some little racing things which may help him, and may help us capitalize on a pole position like we had here in Monza. I think if you look at his first lap, while we review it together, we might see that there were a couple of things that we could have done slightly better.”