“I welcome many more of these situations”: McLaren boss unfazed by nervy Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri moment at Monza

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes the team looks forward to more situations where Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri race each other closely. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda after the 2024 Italian GP, the Italian reckoned that they will review their rules of engagement and choose a championship protege for the future races on the calendar.

On Lap 1, Piastri and Norris came together as they battled wheel to wheel in the first few corners. However, there was a moment in the second chicane where both touched and could have almost ended each other's race. When told that the situation could have ended differently, Stella was unfazed by the McLaren drivers racing each other hard. He also suggested they needed to review the first lap to ensure the outcome in such a situation favors the Drivers and Constructors' Championships.

Asked by Sportskeeda what it will take to ensure the rules of engagement are clear to both drivers and they don’t clash as they did on the opening lap, the team principal said:

“Yeah, but I don't think the drivers, like they were close together, but this is because they were close together on the grid. So for me, I welcome and I look forward to having many more of these situations. What we need to do is in these situations, the outcome is the one that works the best for the team and the drivers.”

Asked if it was clear within McLaren internally that Norris was the lead driver, Stella said:

“In our conversation even before the race here, we acknowledged that Lando is in the best position for a Drivers' Championship. We had conversations with Oscar, we had conversations with Lando and then we had the conversations together and then we define our rules of engagement. And like I said, before we need to take a look at the first lap. But it has to be done in a way that it is competent, is detailed, it's specific, takes into account the videos, take into account what was the driver's expectation.

"And then see what can we learn from this situation to adjust the future situations, save the fact that we do want to give it a go at the championship with Lando.”

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Andrea Stella reckons McLaren did not have the quickest car in Monza

Andrea Stella feels there is a misconception that McLaren had the quickest car at the Italian GP weekend in Monza. He believes Charles Leclerc’s pace during the race was good enough to keep up with the McLarens in the dirty air and build a lead in clean air. He felt that the Ferrari looked competitive from the free practice sessions itself.

The Italian believed that Ferrari’s competitive form meant more competition for McLaren but also meant that there would be more teams chipping away at Red Bull’s points. Speaking about capitalizing the most out of the weekends with both drivers in the top three spots, the McLaren team principal said:

“I want to capitalize more on the competitiveness of the car. In terms of the race today, I think there may be a misunderstanding that the McLaren was by far the fastest car. I think Leclerc was as fast as McLaren today, because he could stay with Oscar in the first stint. And normally when you have the dirty air, means you can stay with the race leader, which means you are at least as fast as the race leader.

"This normally leads to more degradation like Leclerc had in the final bit of the first stint. And even in the second stint, he was behind the two McLarens and he could stay with the McLarens.”

Further comparing the pace of the Ferrari to their own, Stella explained and said:

“Even if you look at the practice and the qualifying, I think lap times were essentially within the nose of putting together laps. I think Ferrari at this weekend were as competitive as us at least with Leclerc, which for us is somehow bad news, which meant we couldn’t progress in the race. They did a good job of exploiting some of their strengths. But at the same time its good news because we have more cars that can take points away of Red Bull. Actually this is better news for us.

"We need to maximise the potential in the car, even if it means that in this kind of circuits, Ferrari will set a very serious challenge for the victory.”

McLaren is facing a dilemma of allowing drivers to race or choosing one contender. However, with eight more races left on the calendar, it will be imperative for them to pick a number one driver. With Ferrari at their heels in the Constructors Championship, the Woking-based team could convert the Constructors' battle into a three-way fight if they do not make the most of every weekend.

In the Drivers' Championship, Norris is the closest to Max Verstappen, where the points margin is down to 62 points. If the team had allowed the Briton to finish ahead of the Australian or targeted the win, the gap would have been reduced further. In the Constructors', Red Bull is now only eight points ahead of the Papaya Orange squad, with Ferrari 31 points behind.