McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella is certain Lando Norris would have been in a “strong position” to win Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix even without the Safety Car.
Norris capitalised on the Safety Car intervening on Lap 29 to pit under a reduced time loss and retain the lead to secure his maiden F1 victory in his 110th appearance.
The Briton had dropped to sixth place at the start, but he extended his first stint and circulated at a competitive pace on worn rubber once his rivals ahead had pitted.
Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen’s crash at Turn 3 triggered the intervention that enabled Norris to come into the pits and change tyres without losing a position.
However, Stella believes Norris’ strong pace at the end of his stint and the advantage he’d have had once he pitted would have set him up to be a contender regardless.
“I have to say that for me today, I already had early on some important clues, like when we saw Oscar [Piastri] overtaking a Ferrari, and Max [Verstappen] was opening a gap, but it wasn’t as usual, as fast as usual, let’s say,” Stella reflected.
“And then when the cars ahead of Lando pitted, and we saw what kind of lap times Lando was able to do, then even without the Safety Car, we thought if we keep Lando out, and we build a good gap, then we’re going to be fast at the end with a fresh set of tyres.
“So, I think the victory came with a little bit of help from the safety car, but I think we were in a strong position even independently, because the pace of the car was strong.”
Asked what the plan was with Norris prior to the Safety Car, Stella answered that McLaren was content to keep him out whilst he was still setting personal best times.
“In fairness, he was so comfortable, he was calm,” Stella said. “I don’t know if the radio was broadcasting, but he kept saying, like, tyres are good, stay calm, we keep going.
“So, I think it would have been very interesting in terms of how long we could have gone, but there was no plan to pit as long as he was able to achieve green sectors and as long as his lap times were competitive with the people that had pitted on [to the] Hard.
“And then you go as long as, actually, you start to lose some time because you have two benefits.
“One is you may find a Safety Car, and the other one is that if you have 25 laps younger tyres, then you are in condition to attack the cars ahead, even if the overtaking is difficult.”
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