Stella says McLaren talks with Norris and Piastri are not over after sprint collision
Photo: FOM
Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Andrea Stella says discussions with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are continuing after their collision during the sprint race, which the McLaren team principal described as “unacceptable”.
Stella said he was encouraged by how both drivers responded to the incident, but stressed that the conversations were focused on how the team can move forward together, rather than revisiting whether Norris was alongside Piastri.
He said: "The conversations that we are having, they are not finished, but it's not because we need to go back discussing if Lando was alongside Oscar. Like, that's not the interesting bit. For me, the interesting bit is a reflection that all the stakeholders, the team, the drivers will have to make around leading together the team.
"Embracing constantly from inside the cockpit the interest of the team as something that is superior to any particular singular individual interest. And while the conversations from this point of view, they are not concluded and there's more we can do to become a more united and even stronger team.
"I'm pleased that Lando, at some stage in the race, adopted this way of thinking. This is what I expect as a team principle. This is what the 1,000 people that work at McLaren expect from our drivers. So it's good that we have had this example, and I expect definitely more of that in the future."
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Norris makes frank Piastri admission
Norris has accepted blame for his collision with Oscar Piastri in the Singapore GP Sprint, saying he should not have tried to pass his team-mate. The McLaren driver said he had apologised to the team and understood the impact of his mistake.**
Norris initially stood by his decision to go for the move, saying there had been enough room to overtake. Following conversations with McLaren, however, he conceded that he should have handled the situation differently.
Asked whether more discussions with the team were expected, Norris suggested there was little uncertainty over his own responsibility for the incident.
“No, it’s pretty straightforward,” he told GPblog, among other media, after the race. “I can’t attempt what I did. I should never have attempted in the first place, even if the move was on. I’ve got to think of the team that I represent more than myself.
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“It was a mistake on my part, and I let down the team. I’ve also apologised to all of them, I owe them all an apology, and I will do better next time.”
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