Team principal Andrea Stella has opened up about the reliability trouble that resulted in Lando Norris’s retirement from the F1 Dutch GP and its larger implications for McLaren and the heated championship battle between the teammates.
The Woking-based team had a really positive Saturday at Zandvoort, with Oscar Piastri and Norris locking out the front row in qualifying. Although he topped all three practice sessions, the Brit set the second-fastest time and missed out on pole position by only 0.012s.
Despite losing second place to Max Verstappen on the opening lap in Sunday’s race, Norris executed a superb move around the outside of the Dutchman’s Red Bull on the exit of Turn 1 to retake the position on Lap 9.
While crashes and Safety Car deployments neutralised on-track action several times, Norris managed to hold onto his position and found himself on the tail of Piastri with just over 10 laps to go. However, the race took a dramatic turn on Lap 65 when smoke started to emerge from the back of Norris’s MCL39, forcing him to pull over and retire from the Grand Prix.
After cutting Piastri’s championship lead to just 9 points heading into the summer break, the unfortunate DNF in the closing stages of Sunday’s event has now left Norris 34 points adrift.
Ramifications of Norris’s DNF
Speaking in a print media session after the Dutch GP on Sunday, Andrea Stella addressed the reliability problem that has put Norris at a disadvantage in the F1 championship fight.
The last time McLaren experienced a car failure was over two-and-a-half years ago at the 2023 Bahrain GP.
Highlighting how reliability has been their forte in the past couple of years, Stella acknowledged that the team encountering a mechanical failure is always an upsetting outcome.
At the same time, the 54-year-old considered the impact that Norris’s retirement from the Dutch GP would have on the neutral approach they have maintained so far when it comes to the McLaren drivers freely competing in the two-way race for the title.
“Reliability has been a strong point at McLaren for a long time. We have had today what looks like a technical reliability problem, which is always disappointing.
“But I would say that it is even more inconvenient because it affects a situation in which we, as a team, we wanted to stay as neutral as possible in what is the driver’s individual quest in the Drivers’ Championship.
“So, it’s not ideal that we had a problem with the car, but that’s what it is.”
McLaren yet to identify the source of the reliability issue
Andrea Stella also proclaimed that McLaren are intent on learning from the setback Norris experienced during Sunday’s race and ensuring that such reliability concerns don’t inconvenience them in the future.
Stating that they have yet to deduce what led to the car failure and the subsequent retirement of Norris from the F1 Dutch GP, Stella cautioned against drawing any premature conclusions regarding the root of the problem.
“The whole team will process this, trying to take the learning, reviewing the problem, fixing it, and making sure that this is not a factor anymore for the future, not only for the remainder of the championship, even if obviously this is the main focus for the moment.
“We had some initial indication based on the data. But, in fairness, we don’t have full proof of what has happened to Lando [Norris]’s car.
“So I would refrain from making any speculation about if it’s a problem on the chassis side or if it’s a problem on the engine side. In fairness, in terms of the result, it doesn’t make a big difference.
“Even in how this is perceived, let me say, I want to take the opportunity to remind ourselves that we just see chassis, engine as one single team.
“So, we will see technically where the problem is, we will fix it, and we will go again. But at the moment, it’s unclear on which side the problem is.”
Stella expects to see an even better version of Norris in the upcoming races
In terms of whether Norris would take more risks going forward since the reliability mishap at the F1 Dutch GP has considerably widened his gap to Piastri in the championship standings, Andrea Stella maintained that the Brit is a very responsible driver and that McLaren trust his instincts.
The Italian also admitted that he is looking forward to seeing a further galvanised driver expressing his maximum potential on the track. Moreover, he remarked that Norris chasing Piastri and attempting to narrow the Australian’s lead once more would make for a massive spectacle in Formula 1.
“Well, we talk about Lando, he’s one of the most fair, balanced, in a way, I would almost say trustworthy individual before being so as a driver.
“So, when he says he’s going to be full commitment, or whatever he said, it just means that if anything, he will try to extract out of himself even more from his incredible potential. I’m sure this situation in the championship will give him extra motivation to try and extract it.
“I think this will come very naturally and if anything, we may see even a better version of Lando because now is the time to extract, if there is anything more, even more out of his potential. So I look forward to seeing Lando in the coming races.
“I’m sure this is going to be a great spectacle for Formula 1 and I think it’s going to make the competition with Oscar [Piastri] even more interesting.”
McLaren will continue to maintain neutrality
With regard to how McLaren are preparing to handle the intensified intra-team rivalry following Norris’s shock retirement from Sunday’s Dutch GP, Andrea Stella responded that the unfortunate incident won’t prompt them to reconsider the neutral attitude they have maintained so far during the season.
Declaring that McLaren would continue to advance the drivers’ respective championship goals in a fair manner, the 54-year-old was rather appreciative of how Norris had dealt with the tricky situation on Sunday. Furthermore, he revealed that they seek to provide the nine-time race winner with the utmost support to keep his motivations intact with nine more rounds to go.
“When it comes to the team, what’s important is that the team keeps racing in the same way we’ve gone racing so far.
“So, staying as neutral as possible, facilitating the pursuit of their own aspirations for Lando and Oscar in a balanced way, in a fair way, in a sportsman-like way and that’s what we will continue to do.
“I don’t think there’s any change in the approach of the team that is triggered based on the fact that we have this situation in Zandvoort.
“I think Lando has already proven in the message that he gave from the radio while he was still in the car that he is processing the situation and he immediately kept his constructive mindset. He said ‘that’s just out of our control. It’s just a bad luck incident. Nothing we could do. We will keep fighting.’
“We will give, if anything, maximum support to make sure that he stays in the fighting spirit.”
