Lando Norris reveals the person holding McLaren together amidst rumored tensions with Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have had some close calls during the ongoing 2024 Formula 1 season.
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Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)
The race in Hungary is still fresh in people’s minds. The flashpoint between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had never been greater. However, McLaren was able to calm down the situation between the two drivers, and the Brit explained how the team principal, Andrea Stella, held the team together despite the various flashpoints in the intra-team rivalry.
Lando Norris trails Max Verstappen by 52 points in the driver’s standings. On the other hand, experts claimed that the difference between the two title challengers would have been much closer if Oscar Piastri had played the role of a No.2 driver at the Hungarian or the Italian GP. Moreover, this would have been enough to make the friendly papaya pair turn into their worst enemies.
Though this would not have been the first time greed spoiled the relationship between two drivers, Andrea Stella acted swiftly and helped the team to not fall apart.
From all the people that I’ve known and worked with, I think Andrea is one of the most integral parts of keeping a team together, motivating the team, pushing the team, making the team what it is today, which is close to being the best team in Formula 1 at the minute.
Lando Norris said in an interview as quoted by f1i
Despite this, the tension between the two drivers when racing on track portrays the situation of a cold war happening between the two, where each driver wants to assert his dominance over the other. Thus, the next few rounds could help in determining whether the cordial relations between Piastri and Norris would continue for longer or not.
Lando Norris’s take on the pressure Red Bull and Max Verstappen exert on others
On the other hand, McLaren easily has the fastest car on paper and has a substantial performance benefit over Red Bull. This has aided them in leapfrogging the Austrian giant in the constructor’s standings, they now aim to dethrone Verstappen from the lead of the title on the driver’s front.
Witnessing the delta between the two teams, fans reckoned that Norris and McLaren could easily win the next six races and bag the title. However, the 24-year-old admitted that overconfidence against Verstappen and Red Bull could be deadly for his team.
The team are doing an amazing job but we’re up against Red Bull. People keep writing them off quickly and too easily. When you’re up against Red Bull, you’re up against Max. They have dominated the sport for the past several years. They are tough competition. I feel like people relax too much. When you’ve got Max and Red Bull behind you, pushing? They will do whatever they can.
Lando Norris said on Channel 4
Apart from this, the Woking-based squad recently revealed that they are planning on bringing an upgrade soon to help the Brit in the championship. This could be in response to Red Bull bringing an upgrade at Austin, which could make the fight for the championship even more exciting as both teams would be utilizing everything they have to snatch away the championship from the other.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(772 Articles Published)