McLaren's Strategy: Piastri to Boost Norris's Title Chase

Andrea Stella signals Oscar Piastri’s crucial role in aiding Lando Norris and McLaren’s bid for dual F1 titles this season.

Andrea Stella expects Oscar Piastri to accept team orders to assist Lando Norris, whether they come from him or Zak Brown. The McLaren F1 director notes that the young Australian is only in his second season, and securing both titles would be a significant achievement for the Woking team.

“I think it will be the case if the things we say make sense, in line with principles I’ve previously mentioned, like fairness, because it’s also fair that, if you support your teammate, winning the championship for the team is a big motivation,” Stella explained.

“If we win both championships, it’s a huge boost, and it benefits the team, even if it’s the other driver, because we must not forget that Oscar is in the middle of his second season in Formula 1.”

“The future belongs to Oscar, okay? You need to ensure that when the time comes to support him, even the support he offers to the team or to Lando, for him, it’s an investment.”

Pressed to reveal what the instructions at McLaren were and how they were delivered, Stella remained silent: “I don’t want to be more specific, because ultimately, even the way you race, the conversations and agreements you have with your driver, they are part of your intellectual property.”

“I think we want to be open, we want to be transparent, give everyone a certain understanding of what’s happening, but we want to keep a degree of confidentiality for ourselves.”

“I think I’ve already given enough hints about how these rules are generated, because we want to maintain integrity and fairness in the way we organize races. We want to be sensible, but at the same time, we absolutely must pursue both championships.”