McLaren team principal SLAMS F1 stars Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for intra-team crash at Italian Grand Prix

McLaren

McLaren team principal SLAMS stars for intra-team crash

Andrea Stella was not impressed with his drivers colliding during the Italian Grand Prix

George Brabner

Tuesday 5 September 2023 11:57

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has criticised Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after the pair collided in the Italian Grand Prix.

Piastri pitted for fresh hard compound Pirelli rubber on lap 24 of Sunday’s race – a strategic decision made one lap after an undercut was initiated by his team-mate Norris.

The Australian emerged from the Monza pitlane on the brink of losing 10th place to Norris as a result, opting to go side-by-side with him into turn one to try and defend his position. With cold tyres beneath him, disaster struck as Piastri ran deep and hit the right rear corner of the sister McLaren, flicking pieces of shredded carbon fibre bodywork up into the air.

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Luckily, the damage sustained by both cars was not major and, whilst the FIA noted the collision, it was not investigated and thus Piastri was not handed a penalty.

Nevertheless, McLaren team principal Stella was less than pleased with the skirmish.

“There should never be contact between two McLarens,” he said. “There was contact, and that doesn’t fit with the way we race at McLaren. We will review things as we do for everything technical, operational or racing.”

Putting the team at risk ‘not acceptable’

Norris leading teammate Oscar Piastri in Monza

Stella continued: "What's important is to have a clear parameter on what you consider acceptable and what you consider unacceptable. It's not a question of emotion. And it is very clear that for every driver, there is something bigger than him. It’s called the team."

Questioning whether or not Piastri’s mistake can be pinned down to the resultant pressure from Norris’ pit stop, McLaren’s team principal re-affirmed that over-the-top competition between his drivers for personal gain is unjustifiable.

Stella said: "If the contact is because there was pressure because of the undercut, then we have something to look at. Because it means that the drivers are putting the team at risk to assert themselves, and that is not acceptable."

However, Stella was quick to remove any possible implications of malice regarding Piastri’s mistake despite an initially firm reaction.

"It's always a bit tricky when you leave the pits, especially with hard tyres," the boss added. "Oscar was certainly trying to see where he could position himself to maintain his position, but with colder tyres, it might prove a little more difficult than he expected. We can therefore conclude that this is simply a small error of assessment.”