STELLA: “WE WAITED FOR A SAFETY TOOL FOR A CHANGE OF POSITION”

Andrea Stella said McLaren is planning a change of position between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris earlier, but they expect a possible safety vehicle.
Oscar Piastri was leading the race, which he started from the pole position, when in the 21st lap, the team asked Lando Norris to give his place in second place
This decision, which came after Piastri said on Friday that he could ‘help his teammate fighting for the championship’, led Lando Norris to victory and made him get 2 points more than Max Verstappen.
Speaking after the sprint, team boss Andrea Stella said the team planned the change of position much earlier but was looking for an opportunity.
“We were following how many seconds we had between us and Leclerc and Verstappen to see if an easy transition between Lando and Oscar would happen,” Stella said.
“In fact, the gap we wanted never occurred, so we were expecting a virtual or real security tool.”
“After Hulkenberg’s car stopped on the track, we had an opportunity and we didn’t miss it.”
“We did a good job as a team today, but this would not be possible if both of our pilots had not worked so harmoniously. We are absolutely pleased with Oscar’s support for Lando. This was the best result we could get for both championships.”
“Of course, the ideal was to do this before, but the necessary conditions for it to be done safely have never been created. Because the third-placed pilot was at risk of overtaking us at the time of the change of position, which would not comply with our principle that ‘the team result comes first’.