Andrea Stella discusses the last-minute position swap at McLaren, praising the team’s collaboration despite Norris ignoring a team order.
Stella, McLaren team principal, explained the position swap at the very end of the Sprint today in Qatar.
In a risky move, Lando Norris slipped behind Oscar Piastri at the finish line, with George Russell closely following the Australian. On the radio, McLaren had refused the swap due to the risk of losing a position to the Mercedes driver.
In the end, Norris didn’t follow the orders. Did that frustrate Stella?
“No. But before I answer, I’d like to praise the excellent work of the team and drivers for being competitive after a tough weekend in Las Vegas. It was very important that the car was solid.”
“The Sprint was interesting. We must acknowledge that Ferrari had a new set of tires.”
“Russell was on a set with one lap, while Oscar and Lando were on a set with two laps.”
“Here, at this track, the new tire loses grip very quickly, so we had a bit of a deficit in terms of tires, which we had to manage during the Sprint. At the same time, we also had a rear wing setup that was good in the corners but a bit slow in the straights.”
“The race therefore required some collaboration between our two drivers, with Lando supporting Oscar with DRS, and it was executed very well. Lando showed brilliant driving.”
“Then, on the swap at the end… Lando was very eager to repay Oscar for Brazil. We actually wanted to ease Lando’s pressure by telling him on the radio that we were happy to finish in that order, but Lando found the opportunity to repay him.”
“So, no frustration, as he found a safe way to do it. Once again, it shows the collaboration, unity, and cohesion that are a strength at McLaren in our pursuit of the championship.”
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Stella Unruffled by Norris’ Defiance of Team Order at McLaren
Stella Unruffled by Norris’ Defiance of Team Order at McLaren
