Andrea Stella confirms McLaren F1 will refine qualifying procedures to ensure fairness and clarity between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Andrea Stella, McLaren F1 Team Principal, is determined not to overlook any detail and admits that the team still has lessons to learn from certain situations.
An unexpected situation arose following a minor incident between the team’s two drivers in Barcelona.
Last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix qualifying saw Oscar Piastri edge out teammate Lando Norris for pole position.
However, in Q3, Norris began his first flying lap while Piastri was completing his own, giving the latter a slight tow on the main straight. Realizing who was behind him, Piastri quickly aborted his effort after setting his time, so as not to give any further advantage to his teammate and main title rival.
While Piastri described the incident as “cheeky,” Stella downplayed its importance but still wants it to be addressed properly.
“It was a minor incident. We always tell our drivers: ‘Don’t let anything mess with your head. Say whatever you think, speak your mind.’”
“In this specific case, I believe Oscar’s comment was aimed at highlighting a situation we hadn’t previously discussed. An unexpected scenario.”
“In itself, it’s not too controversial, but we hadn’t talked about it beforehand, and we don’t want to catch our drivers off guard with situations we haven’t addressed.”
“Respecting fairness is a responsibility that lies with the team rather than the drivers.”
“We need to learn from this and be even more prepared for the upcoming races, which will certainly be interesting.”
Topics like Spanish Grand Prix qualifying are discussed during regular meetings, just like more predictable moments such as the long run down to Turn 1 after the start in Barcelona.
“The briefing doesn’t become too intense each time because these are frequent discussions.”
“The conversations are the same as usual. Obviously, when both drivers start side by side and there are 800 meters to Turn 1, we sometimes have to reiterate every detail of how we race together.”
“But so far, I can only be very grateful to Lando and Oscar, who have handled this internal competition with great responsibility and have followed almost to the letter our racing principles and approach.”
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