McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella argued Lando Norris doesn’t need to be more aggressive in his wheel-to-wheel battles with Formula 1 title rival Max Verstappen.
Two instances during the United States Grand Prix with Verstappen defined Norris’ race.
First, Verstappen dove up the inside of the polesitter at Turn 1 after lights out, running both competitors wide and allowing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to sweep into the lead.
Second, Verstappen kept to the inside line of Turn 12 on Lap 52, forcing Norris to make a pass off of the circuit as both cars ran wide, with the McLaren driver inheriting a five-second time penalty.
With Norris losing out in both instances, there’s an argument to be made that he needs to be more aggressive with Verstappen, but Stella disagrees.
“I would not say that Lando needs to be more aggressive,” the McLaren boss told select media including Motorsport Week after Sunday’s US GP.
“I think any time you have this kind of duel on track, you learn a little bit. But I don’t think Lando should change the fundamental way he goes on this kind of overtaking or defending manoeuvres.
“There are some technicalities that possibly can be reviewed. But I think in this case, if it wasn’t this lap, it could have been the next lap and Lando would have been successful in his manoeuvres.”
“So I don’t think you need to change, become aggressive at the risk of not finishing the race.”
Perhaps Stella is correct in saying Norris shouldn’t up the ante with his approach to battling Verstappen.
Winding the clock back to the Austrian GP proves that an overtly aggressive approach with Verstappen, like Norris employed at the Red Bull Ring can end in disaster after both driver’s races were effectively ruined.
Stewards should have taken time before penalising Lando Norris
Stella didn’t want to discredit Verstappen’s in his remarks, saying “we are talking about a very, very capable driver. I’m not disrespecting this. Max is outstanding.”
The McLaren boss’ issue came not with Norris’ perceived lack of aggression, no Verstappen’s driving, but “that there was no need for the stewards to interfere with the situation under the urgency of deciding during the race.”
With regards to Lap 1, Stellas accepted “first lap mitigating circumstances,” but McLaren still felt aggrieved “because not only did Max gain the position, but it cost him the complete exit for Lando, and therefore losing the positions on both Ferraris.”
While holding “respect” for the “difficulties” stewards face, Stella continued to voice his concerns over the Lap 52 incident.
“[The stewards] should have respect for their job as well, and when the case is so difficult, like Lando and Max, just take the time, review it after the race, hear from the drivers, try to understand the subtleties,” he argued.
“So I think the first lap, first corner, can be mitigated by the first lap interpretation, but I think [Lap 52] for me is really difficult to understand, more than the one in the first lap.
“I don’t want to look like I’m criticising people, I’m just criticising the approach.
“Being a steward is such a difficult job, so if you are uncertain, give yourself time, give yourself the way to be as accurate as possible.”
READ MORE – Red Bull: McLaren made error not telling Lando Norris to let Max Verstappen past in F1 US GP
