McLaren team principal HAILS Norris for radio outbursts
McLaren team principal HAILS Norris for radio outbursts
Andrea Stella has not denounced Lando Norris for his controversial radio conduct in recent races but has said his outbursts are “what champions do”.
Norris does not shy away from criticising McLaren when he feels an incorrect call has been made by the pit wall.
The Briton’s fiery side was on full display at the Dutch Grand Prix when he disputed his race engineer Jose Manuel Lopez’s claim that he was lapping faster on dry tyres than intermediate runners on a drenched Zandvoort circuit.
He blasted Lopez over the radio, questioning “Are you f*****g stupid, mate?” as intermediate-shod Sergio Perez simultaneously blasted past on his way to the lead of the race on lap three.
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Whilst Norris said he made himself "look like an idiot", McLaren team principal Stella defended his star driver in an interview with Sky Sports F1.
“He was frustrated because he realised that we were missing an opportunity by staying out one lap too much, and this is because the pit wall misread the situation.
“So Lando was addressing it, this is what champions do. We like this character, we want to be heavily challenged by the driver, and we can be heavily challenged because our culture is strong.”
Norris is part of 'strong' McLaren culture
As McLaren looks to reinvent themselves after an upgrade package for the Austrian Grand Prix brought the Woking-based team closer to the front of the field, Stella said he would rather have a driver that helps push McLaren forward than sit back uninvolved.
“We'd rather have this kind of challenge rather than a passive driver that just takes everything and doesn't contribute to the development of the team. So for us, this episode is not a problem at all,” he said.
Important in McLaren’s “strong” culture, Stella was keen to emphasise that Norris actively made amends for his comments after the race.
He revealed: "We are very aware of that and Lando himself, he is aware that he came across as tough to the team but then he dealt with it immediately after the race, just with the quality of the person and the driver that we all know . "So, for the team, the matter is closed and overall, for the team, we have grown. So we have no problem at all with that.”
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Nyck De Vries
- Liam Lawson
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
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- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Australia 2023
- Grand Prix of China 2023
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- Miami Grand Prix 2023
- Qatar Airways Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
- AWS Gran Premio de España 2023
- Grand Prix du Canada 2023
- Grand Prix of Austria 2023
- Aramco Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Italy 2023
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
- Grand Prix of Japan 2023
- Qatar Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of the United States 2023
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
- Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
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