As the Formula 1 circus rolled into Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of the summer break, the effects of McLaren’s team orders a week prior at the Hungaroring lingered with Team Principal Andrea Stella explaining he felt Lando Norris’ delayed swapping of positions with Oscar Piastri represented “a missed opportunity.”
Protecting a one-two in the Hungarian GP as the race came to the final round of pit stops, McLaren elected to pit Lando Norris from second place, two laps ahead of race leader Oscar Piastri, effectively undercutting the Australian.
The plan was to swap the cars and reinstate Piastri’s lead on the track, which eventually came to pass, but with only two laps to go after a back and forth on Norris’ team radio with Race Engineer Will Joseph.
Upon reflection Stella told media including Motorsport Week at Spa that had Norris swapped earlier, it could have led to him beating Piastri to the chequered flag.
“It’s a new situation for Lando, fighting for a championship,” Stella said.
“I think he just needed to realise, ‘what does it mean for me, as I’m in this condition in the car,’ and I think Will, with this dialogue, assisted this reflection.
“I had 100% confidence in the people that the race would have finished in the right order.
“I think it’s a little bit of a missed opportunity for Lando, because had he swapped immediately, he could have had 20 laps, actually, to fight for the win.”
Missed opportunities aside, Stella praised Norris for dealing with the situation post-race with “serenity,” adding he “honoured Oscar’s victory, he acknowledged that that was a victory gained on the ground, and that’s what we like to see.”
The situation McLaren found itself in was unprecedented and Stella explained that the team planned for several outcomes pre-race, but the one that actually came to pass was not one that was discussed.
The McLaren Team Principal was critical of this and took responsibility.
“I think one point that we definitely take on board is that we should have prepared the situation better before the race, so that you never find yourself preparing the flight plan as you fly,” he said.
“I think that’s a golden rule in any kind of challenging situation, and this is the responsibility of the team, it’s my responsibility.
“I think we entered the race having planned many, many things, but this one actually was left undiscussed, let’s say, so this is definitely something we take on board as a team.”
Moving forward, Stella reflected on a “constructive” conversation between McLaren’s two drivers after the events at the Hungaroring and as ever, the Italian took a well-balanced view on what the team learned from the race.
“At McLaren, it’s very important that we keep building, building, building, and building,” Stella said.
“And sometimes, when you hear a tree falling, even if it’s very loud, actually what’s important is to think about the forest growing, which is silent, and sometimes this tree falling gives you so much information to help the forest grow.”
