McLaren breaks silence on giving priority to Lando Norris for title fight

McLaren will back Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri for the F1 title, as Norris leads the Australian driver in the standings.

McLaren breaks silence on giving priority to Lando Norris for title fight

Oscar Piastri, Andrea Stella, and Lando Norris (Via: Imago)

McLaren has shown that they’re the team to beat this season, with Lando Norris winning the Dutch GP by a 22-second margin. However, they didn’t dominate the Italian GP despite starting from pole and only managed a 2-3 place finish. Both Norris and Oscar Piastri are closing the individual points gap to leader Max Verstappen. McLaren has now revealed who they will back in the F1 title fight against Verstappen.

As per the standings both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri still have a chance to win the championship based on the numbers. However, Andrea Stella pointed out that Norris is in the strongest position to win. So according to the current standings and points, the Briton is more likely to come out on top compared to Piastri.

Both drivers are mathematically in contention to do so, but Lando is obviously in the best position from a numbers point of view.
Andrea Stella said, as reported by RacingNews365
YouTube video

Andrea Stella said that since McLaren is competing against Max Verstappen, if they decide to support one driver, they should choose the one who has the best chance of winning. In their case, it’s Norris, without any doubt. Therefore, McLaren confirmed they would support the 24-year-old over Piastri in the F1 title fight against Verstappen.

FS Video
We are fighting Max Verstappen so if we want to support one driver, we definitely have to pick the one that is in the best position.
Andrea Stella added.
RELATED
Toto Wolff labels Italian GP as Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s ‘worst race in many years’
Toto Wolff and Max Verstappen(via IMAGO)

Andrea Stella emphasizes the need for McLaren to adjust to Lando Norris’ racing style

After Oscar Piastri overtook Norris, it highlighted that the Briton still hasn’t been able to lead a lap from pole position. Andrea Stella has committed to working with Norris to address these issues. Stella acknowledged that the 24-year-old is performing well, with pole positions at both Zandvoort and Monza. However, he emphasized the need to make small adjustments to his racing techniques. These tweaks aim to help him capitalize better on his pole positions and improve his performance at the start of races.

Andrea Stella and Lando Norris
Andrea Stella and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)
Lando is doing very well, pole position at Zandvoort, pole position here and if anything with Lando, we need to adjust some little racing things that may help him capitalize on a pole position like we had here at Monza.
Andrea Stella stated.

Certainly, Andrea Stella noted that Norris is performing very well and securing pole position but there’s a need for him to maintain his position in the race. They aim to adjust these mistakes and help Norris in the F1 title fight against Max Verstappen.

In case you missed it: