McLaren team boss Andrea Stella does not believe that the team’s internal championship fight between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will escalate. “I don’t think that’s the case,” says Stella before the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris travels to São Paulo as the new World Championship leader, one point ahead of teammate Piastri. Defending champion Max Verstappen is 36 points behind. McLaren is letting its two drivers drive freely in the fight for the title – a decision that has so far caused tension, but also points of friction.
Piastri was dissatisfied at Monza when he was asked to swap positions with Norris.
In Singapore the two collided, which, according to Stella, resulted in repercussions against Norris. However, these were overturned after teammates made contact again in Austin – this time Piastri was largely blamed.
Stella praises the way his drivers treat him
Despite these incidents, Stella sees no reason to worry. “Both drivers have known for a long time that the car is competitive. They know that there is an opportunity to fight for the championship,” he explains. “But I don’t see this escalating into anything other than everyone trying to get the most out of their own weekend. That requires a high level of dialogue – but we’re usually very good at that at McLaren.”
According to Stella, the teamwork is exemplary. “I am personally very proud of our two drivers, our engineers. They work together in a way that we have never seen in the history of Formula 1,” says the Italian.
McLaren wants to learn from history
Stella points to the lessons of the past. “The history of Formula 1 is certainly a source that we use to understand how to manage two number 1 drivers who are both fighting for the world title,” he explains.
He is reminiscent of the 2007 season, when McLaren lost the drivers’ title to Kimi Räikkönen with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. At the time, Stella was working on the winning side at Ferrari. Today he wants to avoid similar mistakes.
“We are not naive. We know that the pressure is high. We know that the stakes are high,” says Stella. “But we will continue to rely on our framework, our principles and the good conversations. What I have seen so far is that Lando and Oscar are very supportive of each other. Oscar spoke very clearly yesterday about mutual respect – and the same goes for Lando.”
Stella concludes: “We are not naive, but we will work very hard to ensure that this situation lasts until the end of the championship.”