Oscar Piastri apologized to McLaren for hitting his teammate Rand Norris in a fight at the Austrian Grand Prix, but the team’s principal Andrea Stella says he’s proud of how the pair handled the situation.
Norris led from Paul’s position, but Piastri was attacking from second place through the opening stint. At one stage we tried to move down the inside of Turn 4, but the Australian approached the back of Norris’s car. Stella says it was the only time he was unhappy with his approach, but praised Piastri for admitting his error.
“From a battle perspective between the two drivers, I would like to say that first of all, I am extremely proud of how the two drivers raced today,” Stella said. “I think that’s something I want to see as a McLaren Formula 1 team.
“We’re here for the race. We want to express our talent and give the two drivers the possibility to achieve their aspirations, but this should be done within the principles and approaches we contributed to building together with the drivers. And I think that happened today.
“When Oscar was locked up and he got very close to Rand, there was only one situation where the two cars got a little too close. I want to give this feedback to Oscar and say he’s proud of him.
“So I think it’s all very clear. I’m so refreshed by how the team reviewed the situation in Canada.
Piastri said he didn’t have to say he went too far in his attempt to overtake that stage, and he didn’t repeat the move regardless of the message he received from the walls of the pits.
“It was a tough battle,” Piastri said. “It was close in a few ways – maybe pushing the limit a bit from my side or twice. But we’re fighting for a race win in Formula 1. It’s pretty tough work and it’s pretty tough.
“I thought it was an interesting race. After the first stop, we may not have done the right thing to the room where we breathe into Land, but the first 20 laps were pretty intense, so it was a good fight.
“I thought it was a fair comment (from the team) and I’m sure I’m locking my teammates’ backs and pushing the boundaries with so many things. I didn’t think it was a wise decision to try it again, even if nothing was said.
