A filmmaker with a soft spot for Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen and above all, Tazio Nuvolari and Ayrton Senna, is also a diehard Formula One fan since the age of 4 (mid-90's). An avid researcher of the past of Grand Prix Racing since before it was even named F1, and with a thirst for knowledge of the ins and outs of the actuality of the sport, as well as for the technical aspects that define it, is a member of GPblog since 2023, where he has put his love of racing to good use.
Just when it seemed Lando Norris was all but set to level things up in the championship at the Belgian Grand Prix having clinched pole, Oscar Piastri turned it around, something McLaren boss Andrea Stella judges to fall on the Briton's side.
Norris complained right after the safety car restart on lap 5 that there were issues with his battery deployment, Stella clarified then that the issue presented itself on Piastri's car as well.
Speaking to GPblog among others, the Italian said: "This is the initial feedback I received, so I think the overtaking ultimately came because it's very difficult for the car that leads the pack to actually arrive first in corner 5."
"It's not impossible but it does require to have a decent advantage as you cross the finish line which was not the case for Lando already at the restart," suggesting Norris did not get the restart right, something the Briton himself stated having copped to a mistake coming out of the La Source hairpin.
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Norris chose the alternative strategy as opposed to Piastri
On lap 11 of the Belgian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was the first to pull the trigger to make the switch onto slicks. Piastri came in the very next lap to don medium tyres on his MCL39.
Double stacking was an option for the McLaren pitwall, but it was ultimately Norris' decision to go one lap longer and take the hard tyres, Stella revealed..
"Yes, we did consider double stacking. At the same time, it was possible for Lando to deviate, he opted to deviate, which would have given him the possibility to go on hard tyres, which is what he decided to do."
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Title fight will come down to execution, and Norris 'did not help himself' in Belgium
It's fine margins that divide both McLaren drivers in the championship standings with the gap ebbing and flowing constantly between Piastri, current championship leader, and hunter Norris.
"There is very, very little between our two drivers. And this is because the two drivers are racing at a very, very high level."
"We are lucky at McLaren to have two drivers that deservedly are fighting for the World Championship."
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"I think the difference will be made by the accuracy, the precision, the quality of the execution," said the McLaren team principal.
The execution is precisely where the Italian believes Norris is missing the mark.
"It would have always been very difficult for Lando to keep the position starting first at the safety restart," he admitted, before judging that ultimately Norris failed to do what he needed to do to keep the race lead.
"At the same time I think Lando didn't help himself by not having a great gap on the finish line."
"Lando had a couple of lockups in corner one and also a little oversteer in corner nine that cost him time. I think this overall prevented us from having an interesting battle possibly at the end," Stella concluded.
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