Jul.26 (GMM) Andrea Stella admits McLaren may need to “reconsider” the way it handles team orders as the season progresses.
In Hungary, despite an easy 1-2 for the resurgent team, most of the post-race chatter was about Lando Norris’ near-refusal to hand back the win to his teammate Oscar Piastri.
In the week since, Norris admitted at Spa that he feels “not too proud” about his behaviour.
“It’s such a stupid thing that I didn’t let him pass straight away because we’re free to race,” said the Briton. “It sounds so simple now, but it’s not something that went through my head at the time.
“The fact we had a one-two and that was barely a headline after the race – nothing was really spoken about it from that side – that’s the bit I feel worst about. I clouded over Oscar’s win and I’m not too proud about that.”
The cool and calm 23-year-old Piastri, however, insisted it was no big deal – and revealed that he actually “shared McDonald’s and played Monopoly” with Norris and Alex Albon after the race.
“Ultimately, he did give the position back and I know it’s not an easy position to be in,” said the Australian. “I would have thought about it selfishly as well.”
Piastri even admits that because Norris is much more likely than he is to take the championship fight to Max Verstappen this year that it’s “a possibility” that his teammate might actually get priority in the future.
Team boss Stella also forgives Norris for his initial reluctance to simply let Piastri re-pass immediately last Sunday following the ‘undercut’ strategy.
“Lando is an honest person in every kind of relationship, including the one with himself,” the Italian said. “But I’m sure that he will continue to refine that over the years.”
Even Lewis Hamilton agrees with that, insisting it “didn’t bother him” that Norris was tetchy in their cooling-down room exchange after the race.
“I am almost 40 and I still remember what it is like to be in my mid-20s,” said the seven time world champion. “I know what it’s like to come out of a race.
“I saw that too and I thought – it’s just age.”
Stella admits he may also need to tweak his approach to whether Norris is actually shuffled ahead of Piastri in a race in the future.
“If in the final few races one of the drivers is heavily involved in the title race, we might reconsider our approach,” he said.
“My hope is that a driver comes to me and says ‘This guy is fighting for the title, if you need my help, I can help’. And if you manage things fairly, as we did, I think that spirit will be built.”
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