McLaren boss Andrea Stella has suggested that there could be leeway on the implementation of certain team strategies in the future, after its driver swap in the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix.
The papaya squad saw its drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, running in second and third place at Monza, with both still needing to pit for tyres late in the race.
A somewhat botched pitstop for Norris allowed Piastri through into second place, but the Australian was requested to give it back to Norris before the chequered flag.
This was down to the team’s plan to box Piastri first, in order to solidify third place ahead of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, with Norris having held second for virtually the whole race.
The move has sparked debate, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff claiming it set a precedent, something Norris denied, with Piastri voicing his necessity to “protect the culture” McLaren has.
Speaking after the race, Stella stated there could be a “review” into the team’s principles of fairness, and when asked further, he said that there would not necessarily be any changes made to them, but said discussions about it could happen.
“I think in your question we need to first of all agree on what the word ‘review’ means,” the Italian told media including Motorsport Week.
“Reviewing is the foundation of pursuing excellence. If you think that whatever you do is good and you are not going to have an individual or a team review of anything you do, even the thing you do perfectly, simply you are not going to progress.
“So for me reviewing, it doesn’t mean like, ‘Oh, certainly we will have to change it.’
“Potentially we will review them and we will further align on them and we will confirm them. So the fact that I use this word doesn’t mean that there will be changes.
“The fact that I use this word means that that’s how we approach things at McLaren and this review, which is so essential in engineering, in operation, does apply as well in the way you go racing and does apply in the way you go racing with your drivers.”
READ MORE – McLaren explains why the team opted to switch Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in F1 Italian GP
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