McLaren open to team orders, but Andrea Stella hesitant to implement “brutal” measures
Despite finishing 2nd and 3rd in Monza, McLaren have faced consistent criticism since the Italian GP. The team’s failure to convert Pole Position to victory, once again, has triggered suggestions that Lando Norri should be prioritsed. However, team principal Andrea Stella is hesitant to do this.
For the majority of the last eighteen months, McLaren have been praised for their strong driver line-up.
Oscar Piastri’s Sprint Race victory in Qatar was an early indication of the Australian’s potential to fight at the front. Alongside Lando Norris, the 22-year-old completes a strong partnership at Woking.
Unfortunately for team principal Andrea Stella, the inter-team dynamics have changed significantly. Since McLaren began contending for the Championship, each of their decisions have been under a new level of scrutiny.
McLaren reluctant to change their approach
Despite this, Stella does not believe immediately implementing team orders is necessary:
“I think without Leclerc, Lando and Oscar would have been close enough to each other so that we could have played with other variables,” motorsport-total.com quotes him as saying.
“Which doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to swap positions now, because I don’t think that’s part of our agreements, or at least was.
“Because it seems a little brutal to ask a driver who is going to win a race to swap positions on the track.
“But we’ll review all these things in the next races. And if we come to the conclusion that it’s right to swap positions, then we’ll do it.”
Ultimately, McLaren must consider a multitude of variables. This is especially true given the rise of Ferrari, as the Italian squad becomes a genuine threat in the constructors’ Championship.
With Max Verstappen never to be written off and Mercedes still a legitimate threat, Andrea Stella’s team must show the necessary racing instincts to operate at the highest level.
