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Why Stella would've been "extremely concerned" with Norris if it was simple
Andrea Stella claims he would've been "extremely concerned" with Lando Norris had he allowed Oscar Piastri through immediately without questioning the call in Hungary. Despite causing a lot of stress and strain on the McLaren pit wall, the boss quickly praised and defended his British driver after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Norris was told to allow Oscar Piastri back through after taking the lead because of an undercut. However, the British driver questioned this decision on the radio and left it late before allowing the Australian through. The outcome meant McLaren secured a one-two win led by Piastri.
Why Stella is impressed by Norris
Despite the stress this caused, Stella was quick to praise his driver and explain why he was pleased. "Because he's a race driver. Mention to me a race driver who would not have done it. Actually, I think you can mention to me many that would have not done it until lap 70," Stella told GPblog and others in Hungary.
"I would've been extremely concerned in that case if Lando had not demonstrated that he's a racing driver. Because that's the ethos you need to fight hard. You need to fight when you are in contention with the likes of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and more. So he demonstrated the ethos, the spirit of the race driver. It can be entertaining to discuss the controversial aspect, but it would be unfair not to discuss the resolution that happened according to our way of racing," Stella added.
Meanwhile, Norris has received some heat after allowing Piastri through with the suggestion that he should've negotiated a battle deal in his contract to be firmly the number one driver. Norris is currently second in the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship and 76 points behind Max Verstappen. The Brit has 11 races left to try and cut the gap. McLaren have just 51 points to bridge to Red Bull in the Constructors World Championship.
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6 September 2024
