How psychological is the team duel in the 2024 Formula 1 season between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at McLaren? Team Principal Andrea Stella provides insights
Lando Norris is considered one of the fastest drivers in Formula 1, but the Briton has yet to win a race. Will that still be a problem in the 2024 season? Because it is possible that Oscar Piastri, a McLaren team-mate, will beat him to it again, just as Daniel Ricciardo did at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix in Monza
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella, however, sees “no headaches ahead”. On the contrary: he is “expressly looking forward” to such a scenario because it would mean, above all, that McLaren would once again be a Formula 1 winning team.
“That would be an incredible result when you consider that Red Bull left practically nothing for anyone else last year,” says Stella.
How Norris would deal with a Piastri win
Norris, he is sure, would look at it the same way, even if he wasn’t the McLaren winner, Stella continues: “A win by Oscar would also mean incredible emotion for Lando. Because then we would know: We have a car capable of winning.”
“Because when I put myself in Lando’s shoes, I see a fair sportsman. He would ask himself: How do I have to improve to achieve what Oscar has achieved?”
“The bottom line is that this game is not about how good you are today, it’s about getting better every day. Verstappen, for example, is not the same driver he was in 2021 and certainly not the same driver he was at the start of his Formula 1 career. The important thing is continuous improvement. And that’s definitely the perspective Lando would take at this point,” says Stella.
“If you think about how grounded he is, he would probably think: How can I consolidate this? That’s why I always say to the drivers: what can you do to get a little better every day? “
The first victory sends out a signal
Nevertheless, Stella appreciates that the first Grand Prix victory can have a signal effect for a rider: “The first victory is always the most important, because this first victory gives you self-confidence. I think a lot of things are easier after that.”
The great art is to put the drivers “consistently in a position where [they] can fight for victory,” explains the McLaren team boss. His racing team has “not succeeded in doing that so far”, especially with Norris.
“So when Lando wins his first race, it will be a great moment. He’s ready for it. But it’s more a question of whether we are also ready and whether we can provide him with a car that gives him a chance.”
“Last year, we led several races, but we couldn’t hold it until the chequered flag, even though we tried everything. But hopefully we will have more opportunities in 2024,” says Stella.
Two potential winning drivers as a “strength” of McLaren
He therefore sees his team’s line-up with two potential winning drivers more as an opportunity than a risk and believes “both drivers benefit from it”. This was already evident in their first year together at McLaren in 2023. The “very functional collaboration” between Norris and Piastri is “a strength in our team”, assures Stella.
“We are already looking forward to taking the next step in 2024. Because when we talk about the future, it’s mostly about technical matters, about the car. But we could also have done a lot better as a team in 2023.”
“For example, there were qualifying sessions in which we didn’t do as well as the car should have done. But you can usually get to grips with that through good cooperation between drivers and engineers and the team as a whole. So we still have room for improvement here. And I’m looking forward to seeing how things develop. “
