McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella says he is proud of how his driver handled the fight at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Rand Norris impressively resisted the racing challenge from teammate Oscar Piastri, claiming his third victory of the season, serving as the dominant McLaren 1-2 in the Red Bull Ring.
Piastri attacked Norris through the initial stint, but the duel remained beautiful. The pair made contact when the piastry was trapped while attempting to move down the inside of Turn 4.
Apart from that one incident, Stella was pleased with how Norris and Piastri handled the situation.
“When it comes to the fight between the two drivers, I would like to say that I am very proud of how the two drivers raced today,” Stella told media, including crash.net in Spielberg. “I think that’s something I want to see as a McLaren Formula 1 team.
McLaren
“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 apologized to McLaren for his turn 4 move.
Piastri, who reduced Norris’ championship lead to 15 points, apologized to McLaren after admitting to “pushing the boundary” with a turn four move.
After taking the checkered flag, Piastri said on Team Radio:
Looking back at the post-race battle, Piastri added: “It was a tough battle. It was close at some point – maybe pushing a bit from my side once or twice. But we’re fighting for a race victory in Formula 1. It’s a pretty tough job and pretty hard work.
“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.