McLaren Steady After Double, Stella Backs Norris

Stella stands firm on Norris’s pivotal role as McLaren secures another major race success.

McLaren F1 managed to avoid worsening the controversy after the Hungarian Grand Prix. The team favored Lando Norris, second on the track, performing an undercut on Oscar Piastri, and engineers then negotiated with the British driver to give back the position.

Fortunately, this was completed before the race ended, and Norris accepted the directive with a smile upon exiting the car, sparking joy for Andrea Stella, McLaren’s director, after the team’s first double since 2021.

“It’s a brilliant day for the team. Finishing first and second is a testament to the hard work of every McLaren team member, to whom I want to express gratitude for their efforts and their contribution to this incredibly positive result,” the Italian rejoiced.

“It’s special and significant for several reasons. We’re moving up in the championship, it’s Oscar’s first win, and it marks a milestone for the team on this upward trajectory since last year.”

“Yet, this does not change our mindset, which is to keep our feet on the ground, progress weekend after weekend, and ensure that we continue to do this in every qualifying and race. We now look towards Belgium for one last race before the summer break.”

“Name a racing driver who wouldn’t have done it?”

Stella clarifies the misunderstanding regarding instructions and hierarchy: “The order of the drivers was changed for the last stint to make the safest decision in terms of tire life and to protect our finish in 1st and 2nd place in case of issues during pit stops.”

“The fact that Lando gave back his position embodies the values of what it means to be part of the McLaren Formula 1 team and the culture we instill as a unique team by putting team interests first,” he continued, before asserting that he was not concerned Norris would insist on staying ahead.

“No, I have 100% confidence in Lando. I know exactly the nature of the two guys driving our McLarens. There are two important aspects to their personality. They are competitors, and team members. It’s very balanced and that’s why they are drivers at McLaren. There wouldn’t be room for drivers who were any different.”

“I was 100% confident and left the tough job to Will [Joseph], to rebalance between the race driver and the team member, and to restore the hierarchy that had been disrupted at the stop. I am happy to be the director of such a team and these types of drivers.”

Stella explained that his acceptance of Norris’s actions stemmed from the realization that other top competitors would have behaved like his driver. Pressed for his thoughts on why Norris took longer to comply with the pit wall’s instructions, Stella replied, “Because he’s a racing driver!”

“Name a racing driver who wouldn’t have done it? Who wouldn’t have delayed their decision?”

“In fact, I think you could name many drivers who wouldn’t have done it before the 70th lap.”

“And I would be extremely concerned in that case, yes, if Lando had not shown himself to be ‘a racing driver’, because that’s the ethic with which you have to fight. As if you had to fight when you are competing with drivers like Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, and increasingly, I suppose, Oscar himself.”

“So he demonstrated the ethic, the spirit of the racing driver, but I think it would be unfair, it could be something entertaining to talk about the controversial aspect in a certain way. But it would be unfair not to talk about the resolution that occurred according to our way of racing.”

According to Stella, despite this hiccup, McLaren’s situation is better than it has been for years.

“I was saying with Oscar and Lando before this race, it had been a long time since we went to Belgium thinking we could be podium contenders.”

“Last year, we had updates but we didn’t have a good rear wing and the race was tough in terms of top speed. This year, we have all the ingredients to be competitive and continue our championship quest.”