The team principal of McLaren, Andrea Stella, has expressed his satisfaction with the outstanding performance of Lando Norris during the Belgian Grand Prix of Formula 1, where he managed to finish seventh despite a ten-place grid penalty. Stella stated that without this penalty, Norris would have been in a position to fight for a podium.
Norris received the penalty after changing the battery of his Mercedes, exceeding the maximum allowed number of changes for the season due to previous reliability issues. Despite this, McLaren trusted Norris’s ability to advance on the Spa-Francorchamps track.
In the qualifying phase, the English driver demonstrated good pace, qualifying third, just behind Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen. In the race, he optimized a different strategy, starting with hard tires before switching to mediums halfway through the race. Stella commented that Norris’s pace was sufficient to aim for a podium based on his performance during the race.
In terms of strategy, McLaren decided not to pit during the virtual safety car, a decision that, according to Stella, cost Norris valuable time, as he could have taken the opportunity for a quicker stop. ‘With the perspective we have now, perhaps we should have seized the opportunity to pit’, said Stella, acknowledging that the lack of a second safety car affected Norris’s options.
Additionally, the team noticed an improvement in performance thanks to the track conditions in Belgium, which favored their Mercedes engine. Stella pointed out that while this improvement is notable, the team still needs to achieve more consistent performance regardless of track conditions.
Norris’s teammate, Oscar Piastri, had a more complicated day, with damage to his car caused by an incident with Charles Leclerc. Piastri finished fifth after a tough race but gained a position after George Russell‘s retirement on the first lap.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
