by VALERIO BARRETTA
McLaren team orders
Team order, yes, but without forcing. At home McLaren Today was a day of progress, but not of revolution: team orders have been introduced that will favor Lando Norris to the detriment of Oscar Piastri, but neither the drivers nor the team have any intention of deciding the outcome of the race in a dramatic way by sacrificing merit on the altar of mathematics.
Both team principal Andrea Stella and Piastri have underlined how the decision communicated today means in concrete terms a greater support to Norris, avoiding risky duels like the one at Roggia. The British driver himself wants his victories to be earned on the track, with the help of the team but without gifts.
Norris’s words
“Oscar is a driver who fights for his championship, for his career. And that is a very good reason why he wants to fight and do well. People outside think it is an easy thing, but it is not. We have developed a good plan to deal with all this: It is very important for us to maintain fairness and sportsmanship“, commented the British. “I think in any sport, as soon as you know you’ve done something wrong, it sticks in your mind forever. But that’s not how I work and that’s not how McLaren works. We help each other within the limits of teamwork.. I think when another driver has an advantage and performs better, or drives faster, he is doing a better job. If I’m behind and not doing a good job, that’s where I deserve to be.“.
Norris then spoke about Stella’s skill in this process: “Andrea is very good. And I probably wouldn’t ask anyone else to have his job and make these kinds of decisions. I think it’s one of the most integral parts of keeping a team together, motivate it, push it and make it almost the best team in Formula 1 at the moment. I have a lot of confidence in him, we work well together. I think the most important thing we have is mutual honesty: when one agrees or disagrees, we tell each other and we come up with the best solution. I’m very happy with how he works, he’s a smart guy and he knows how to race. He’s worked with a lot of incredible riders in the past, so he also knows the mentality of the riders. I couldn’t ask for a better boss.”.
#Team #order #McLaren #Norris #win
