McLaren’s Strategy for a Close Title Battle
McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andrea Stella is confident that the intra-team title battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will not escalate as the pair head into the final four race weekends, currently separated by just one point. Norris has taken the lead in the championship after overtaking his teammate in Mexico, while defending champion Max Verstappen remains 36 points behind the Briton.
The team’s unique approach of allowing its drivers to compete freely has kept the 2025 drivers’ championship alive, despite the challenges of maintaining fairness. This strategy required significant cooperation from both Norris and Piastri, which has not always been smooth sailing.
In Monza, Piastri expressed discomfort with being asked to swap positions with Norris, leading to in-depth discussions. The tension continued in Singapore, where the pair clashed, resulting in “repercussions” against Norris. However, these issues were overshadowed when the two made contact again in Austin, with Piastri largely held responsible. Since Mexico, the duo has returned to a clean slate.
A Cooperative Approach
Despite the occasional friction, Norris and Piastri have generally maintained a cooperative relationship. Stella believes this will continue, thanks to the efforts he has made in the background to foster a culture of equal treatment within the team.
When asked if there is a possibility that Norris and Piastri might damage their relationship during the 2025 title run-in, Stella responded: “I don’t think that’s the case.”
He added: “Obviously, both drivers have known for a long time that the car was competitive, so they knew that there was a possibility to fight for the championship. But I don’t see that this is escalating in anything more than focusing each of them on their own weekend and try to extract the maximum.”
Stella emphasized that this approach requires a high level of dialogue, which McLaren has managed well. He noted: “This requires a high level of dialogue, but this is something that normally we can do well at McLaren.”
Lessons from F1 History
Formula 1’s rich history offers several warnings about the potential risks of McLaren’s approach. In 2007, McLaren nearly lost a certain drivers’ title when Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen mounted an unlikely comeback to defeat the McLaren duo of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at the final race in Brazil.
Stella, who was part of the winning side as Raikkonen’s performance engineer, acknowledged the lessons from that era. He said: “The history of Formula 1 is certainly a source that we’ve been using on how to approach managing two number one drivers that are in contention for a world drivers’ championship.”
He also expressed pride in the collaboration between the team’s drivers and engineers. “I am personally very proud of our two drivers, our engineers. They collaborate in a way I think that we have not seen before in the history of Formula 1.”
Managing Pressure and Stakes
Stella admitted that the pressure is high and the stakes are big, but the team remains committed to its framework and principles. “We are not naive. We know that the pressure is high. We know that the stakes are big, but we will continue leaning on our framework, on our principles, on the good conversations.”
He highlighted the mutual respect and support between Norris and Piastri. “And so far, what I’ve seen is that Lando and Oscar have always been very supportive. Yesterday Oscar talked very clearly about the mutual respect, the mutual support that is happening between himself and the team and likewise is happening with Lando.”
Stella concluded: “We are not naive, but we will work very hard to make sure that this position stays until the end of the championship.”
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