McLaren boss Andrea Stella has revealed the team won’t prioritise Lando Norris heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi to ensure that it seals the Formula 1 title.
Max Verstappen capitalised on a calamitous McLaren slip-up in the Qatar Grand Prix to pick up a win that has kept him in championship contention until the last race.
Norris possesses the upper hand, but Verstappen has displaced Oscar Piastri as his closest rival going into the decisive round at the Yas Marina Circuit this weekend.
Verstappen now sits 12 points behind Norris, with Piastri situated another four points back, meaning a podium would be enough to crown the Briton World Champion.
McLaren has remained committed to providing its drivers with equal opportunities through this season, even should that result in Verstappen pipping both to the title.
And while Piastri’s own chances are slim, Stella has stated that the Australian won’t be condemned to a supporting role to guarantee his team-mate gets over the line.
“Well, the first element to focus on from a team point of view, I would say, is to make sure that we are in condition, prepared, determined to execute perfect race weekends,” Stella told media including Motorsport Week. “Because the pace has been in the car, the drivers are doing an exceptionally good job.
“But over the last couple of races, from a team point of view, we have not been in condition to capitalise on the good work of the drivers and the potential we have in the car.
“When it comes to the fact that we have two drivers in the quest for the World Championship, our philosophy and our approach will not change. We will leave both Oscar and Lando the possibility to compete and pursue their aspirations. Oscar, from a points point of view, is definitely in condition to win the title.”
Stella highlighted that on the previous two occasions where three drivers were still in the running at this point, it was the one in Piastri’s position that came out on top.
“We have seen before in the history of Formula 1 that when you have this kind of situation, sometimes it’s the third one that actually wins,” he continued.
“We have seen it, I think, in 2007 [with Kimi Raikkonen], in 2010 [with Sebastian Vettel], and Oscar is fast. I think he deserves to be able to just realise his performance.
“We will let the drivers be in condition to race each other, but above all, what’s important for us is that we are in condition to beat Verstappen with one of our two drivers.”
McLaren will hold conversations with drivers prior to title decider
But Stella has indicated that McLaren’s stance might change during the race should Norris require assistance, provided that Piastri isn’t in condition to prevail instead.
“I think whatever call we make in terms of using the collaboration of our drivers, we will have to follow some of our fundamental principles, which are foundational to our approach,” he said.
“We want to be fair to our drivers, we want to race with integrity, and we want to race in a way that doesn’t surprise our drivers.
“So, between now and Abu Dhabi, there will be further conversation with Lando and Oscar. We will confirm our racing approach, but certainly what I can say is that if any of the drivers is in condition to pursue the quest to win the title, then we will respect this.
“There will be no call which excludes the other drivers when the other driver is in condition to win.
“So, we will see what scenario will unfold, but definitely what I can say is that there will be conversations and there will be a way of going racing which is united between the team and the drivers, like we have always done.”
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