McLaren boss Andrea Stella has reiterated his encouragement of drivers being vocal in negative situations amid the team’s testy start to Formula 1‘s Singapore Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were once again at the centre of an incident which threatened McLaren’s ‘team first’ principles, which took place at the very start of the race.
Starting third, Piastri was somewhat obstructed by a sluggish-starting Red Bull of Max Verstappen and Norris, who jumped to fourth from fifth on the grid, took full advantage.
Going into Turn 3, the Brit held the inside line and nudged his team-mate wide in an apparent attempt to avoid serious contact with Verstappen, whom he poked at the apex.
The slight touch with the Dutchman was enough to lightly damage Norris’ front wing without consequence, but the move went down like a lead balloon with the Australian.
Venting to race engineer Tom Stallard, Piastri labelled the move as “not very team-like and “not fair” once he realised no further action was being taken.
Piastri refused to be drawn on the incident after the race, but naturally, Stella was hounded with questions, which were faced head-on.
Citing Norris and Piastri’s clash in Canada as an example of renewed strength and unity, Stella told media including Motorsport Week that the Singapore incident “will lead to some good conversations”, adding: “Obviously Oscar made some statements while he was in the car but that’s the kind of character that we want to have from our drivers,
“They have to make their position very clear. That’s what we ask them. At the same time we have to put things in perspective, the perspective of a driver that is in a Formula 1 car with the intensity of it being the first lap and the perspective that obviously Lando moving on to him.
“But we know that Lando in reality had contact with Verstappen and oversteered on to Oscar.
“So we will have good reviews, good conversations and, like after Canada, we’ll come back stronger and even more united.”
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