McLaren may have closed out the front row in qualifying for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix but the team had to settle for P2 and P3 by the time the chequered flag fell in Monza after Charles Leclerc’s superb one-stop race win. With many a critic claiming beforehand that this was McLaren’s race to lose, Team Principal Andrea Stella has said the team will review how their drivers race one another moving forward.
Having seen Lando Norris claim pole position with teammate Oscar Piastri finishing just behind on Saturday in Monza, Stella had told media: “Our recommendation is always racing with the papaya rules, whereby, when the car is papaya, like you are always careful with any other competitor, but if the car is papaya, you take even extra care.”
However, although his cars were clean off the line, Piastri’s aggressive move at the second chicane saw the Australian driver take the lead whilst Norris fell back to P3 with Leclerc being the driver to benefit. Due to how close the papaya pair got in the opening lap, Stella has said that the team will review Piastri’s first-lap pass on Norris before deciding if it complied with its ‘Papaya Rules’ code of conduct.
“We will have to review together with the drivers, look at the videos, understand their point of view, and then we will assess together whether they were fully compliant or not.” stated Stella. “And we will take the learning, if there is any learning that we need to take, and then we will adjust the papaya rules such that they allow us to pursue in the best possible manner both the Constructor’s Championship and the Drivers’ Championship.”
This is certainly a new way of thinking for the Woking-based manufacturer as they made clear that they now acknowledge that not only the Constructor’s Championship is possible, but due to the performance they have at the moment in their car – and with some of the struggle being seen from Red Bull – the Drivers’ Championship is definitely possible.
“So, if we are going to achieve both as a team, we need to put the team in condition and Lando in condition to pursue both championships.” Stella remarked before being told that Verstappen had already said it is unrealistic that he will claim his 4th Drivers’ Championship in 2025. To this the man steering the ship at McLaren replied: “Max is good even with his tongue. He’s not only good on track.”
Stella then admitted that due to the fact Verstappen is facing some challenges, McLaren need to be better at capitalising on the opportunities that Red Bull seem to be offering at present.
“So, I think it’s definitely a worthwhile exercise, like we do all the times, to review in the specifics, not only of the entire race, but even of the first lap, because I hope that we will be in condition to have these situations frequently in the future. It means that the two McLarens start from the front of the grid, but we need to make sure that this is the best for the team and the best for Lando.”
With so much talk over capitalising, the McLaren team boss was then asked as to whether his team should have won in Monza. On this point, he would not be drawn out but did say he wants to capitalise more on the competitiveness of his team’s car.
“In terms of the race today, I think there may be a misunderstanding that the McLaren was by far the fastest car.” Stella said. “I think Leclerc was as fast as McLaren today, because he could stay with Oscar in the first stint. Normally, when you have the dirty air, and you can stay with the race leader, it means that you are at least as fast as the race leader. This normally leads to some more degradation, like Leclerc had in the final pit of the first stint.And even in the second stint, he was behind the two McLarens, and still he could stay with the McLarens.”
Ferrari being as quick as McLaren is not necessarily a bad thing because as Stella explained – “we have more cars that can take points away off Red Bull.” Having said that though, Ferrari won through their execution of a one stop race and with hindsight could this have been achieved by McLaren?
“I think in hindsight, especially with Oscar, after the stop, if we had driven the car, to say, like we drive for a one-stop, even if we see the graining on the hard tyres, we don’t get too worried, and we just simply try and respond to Leclerc, then I think the victory could have been possible.” claimed Stella.
It remains a question mark as to whether McLaren could have won the race or not, but it looks like there was potentially more in the tyres than what the team might have anticipated. Leclerc was in a no-lose situation though due to his pace and the fact that he would still be P3 if he needed to pit for a second time. Stella highlighted this point as he told media post-race: “And when you are P3, it’s easier to say, let me try the one-stop, than when you are the leader, and if it doesn’t work, then it’s going to be a misery at the end of the race.”
As is the case in the age of social media, many a fan had asked post-race online why McLaren did not swap Piastri with Norris as the F1 Constructors’ Championship points haul from the race would remain the same but Norris would have chipped away further at Verstappen’s lead in the F1 Drivers’ Championship. However, Stella was very clear that the team did not consider that.
“We considered other ways during the race to make sure that Lando had his own opportunities, but we didn’t consider the swap, even because we were still willing to put as much pressure as possible on Leclerc, and eventually induce him to have a problem with the front left.”
Red Bull Racing are certainly under pressure and both McLaren drivers can mathematically claim the F1 Drivers’ Championship this season. Throughout the year, McLaren has been keen to say that their drivers are free to race one another but now it seems that decisions need to be made and the team need to side with one man. Stella’s further remarks show that the team have chosen Norris.
“Lando is obviously in the best position from a numbers point of view, and we are fighting Max Verstappen, so I think if we want to give support to one driver, we definitely have to pick the one that is in the best position.”
Despite this, McLaren will not be using the term number one driver in relation to Norris anytime soon. Stella says the term may work well as a headline but it is very difficult to implement this definition in the real world. Instead, it’s better to keep working as a team, get the opinion of both drivers, and then work together to pursue the objective of claiming both championships.
The discussion around team orders and swapping positions only came about as the two McLaren racers are driving supremely well and that is why they are next to each other on the grid. With that in mind, Stella said he welcomes and looks forward to having many more of these situations but he needs to make sure that the outcome is the one that works best for the team and for the drivers.
Sunday’s post-race interview was very much a series of ‘what if…?’ scenarios and so the theme continued with the next question asking as to whether the team would have applied team orders if Leclerc had not got the early jump into P2.
“Without Leclerc, I think Lando and Oscar would have been close enough that we could have played with some other variables, which does not necessarily mean, OK, now we swap positions.” Stella outlined whilst continuing to be careful with is words. “Because I don’t think this is, or at least this wasn’t part of our agreements, because it looks a little brutal to ask a driver that is going to win a race, gained on track, that you have to swap positions. But we will review all these things for the next races. And if we come to the conclusion that swapping is together, that swapping is the right thing to do, then we will do it.”
Such a new tone from McLaren may be news to Piastri and so how do the team feel the Aussie will respond to being told that his team are going to favour his teammate in the championship.
“I think it will be, if the things we say are sensible, according to the principles I said before, like fairness, because it’s also fairness that if you support your teammate winning the championship for the team, it’s a big boost. If we win the championship, it’s a massive boost.”
Stella also indicated at this stage that the role that Piastri plays could benefit him in years to come seeing how the 23-year-old is still relatively new to F1: “The future is Oscar’s. I think we need to make sure that when it’s the time to support, even the support he gives to the team of Lando, for him it’s an investment.”
The future of this F1 season remains uncertain but now Red Bull Racing have two manufacturers to compete with at the top in McLaren and Ferrari – and let’s not forget Mercedes who also have three Grands Prix victories to their name in 2024.
Next up is Baku, the race labelled as the home of the streetfighters and this is a fight with just 8 more incredible rounds remaining. McLaren had to choose a man to put their weight behind and that man is Lando Norris. He has figuratively knocked out his teammate and has Max Verstappen well and truly in his sights.
