Stella takes on team orders at McLaren: "Both drivers are totally on board with this type of approach"

Earlier in the season, McLaren had attracted strong criticism over the management of its drivers in the race, with a view to the Drivers' Championship. After Monza, the British team had then assured that priority would be given to Lando Norris, better placed in the ranking and main opponent of Max Verstappen for the title this season. In Brazil, the English team put the team instructions into action: starting from pole position, Oscar piastri relinquished the lead of the race with three laps to go to his teammate, allowing him to pick up an additional point by winning the Sprint, while the championship leader finished 3rd.

After 22 laps of discussion, Oscar Piastri gives up the first place in the sprint to Lando Norris 🇧🇷

McLaren's trade recap ⬇️ #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/PVud2aMDxh

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) November 2, 2024

Team instructions that were obviously difficult to accept for Oscar Piastri, but also difficult to give for McLaren. While Andrea Stella acknowledged that the double achieved in the Sprint was the "best possible result for both championships", he assures that both drivers agree with this strategy.

McLaren rushed swap ahead of VSC

“It’s a clear conversation we had with both of our drivers. Both drivers are very supportive of this type of approach. We are fortunate to have not only two very fast drivers, but also two great team players., said McLaren's Team Principal, who explained why McLaren had waited until the final laps to make the position change. "As for the execution of the exchange, it obviously depends on the position of the others. The sufficient gap between 2nd [Norris] and 3rd [Verstappen] never really materialised."

"So we had to wait, but as soon as we saw that there was a possibility of a virtual safety car or safety car, we executed it immediately.he detailed. The Sprint race went as expected. It's always a bit tense, it's Formula 1 – I'd be surprised if it didn't!"

Andrea Stella also hinted that team orders could be given again before the end of the season. Lando Norris now trails Max Verstappen by 44 points heading into the Brazilian Grand Prix. “If you're a Formula 1 driver and you're second, you're always going to be a little bit nervous, so we deeply respect that aspect, but as I said before, the reality is that our conversations have always been extremely constructive and consistent, and that will certainly be the case for the rest of the weekend and the final part of the season.”

ALSO READ > Norris 'not proud' of Sprint win: 'Piastri deserved it, but we did what we had to do'