F1 News
McLaren team principal Stella thanks the stewards: 'A positive day in F1'
Similarly to the US Grand Prix from a week ago, the on-track battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris was the talk of the town in Mexico City. After Lando Norris got penalised at COTA, this time, it was Max Verstappen who received two 10-second penalties. Not surprisingly, while Christian Horner thought it was harsh, this decision was welcome by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella.
Stella: 'Authority exists!
"In my opinion, and this is a comment that I make straight after the race, so there may be some more details in terms of looking at the incidents and interpretation of the incidents. But in my view the penalties seem to be consistent with the application of the guidelines in relation to those kind of incidents. So I think from this point of view this has been a positive day because it shows that authority exists," McLaren's Italian team principal began in Mexico City about the penalties Verstappen received.
After serving his penalties, Verstappen could only finish in P6, while Lando Norris could cross the finish line in second position. As a result, with four Grands Prix weekends to go, the gap between the rivals stands at 47 points in the standings.
"It shows that the stewards have done a good job that surely comes because of constant review like we do in Formula 1 or in any kind of thing you do. You review, and you try to improve. Certainly as a team, there's many things that we know we can review and improve," Stella continued, after he was not happy with the stewards decision a week ago at the Circuit of the Americas.
"To me it looks like this process has happened. Also in terms of stewarding, in terms of the FIA having taken some feedback constructively on board and we appreciate this. Not as a team but as a part of the F1 community, I feel like I have to thank the FIA and the stewards," the team principal concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Estéban den Toom
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