McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has defended the strategic decisions made by the Woking-based Formula 1 team during the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix, firmly rejecting the suggestion that the team favoured Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri. Stella also praised Lando Norris for executing a perfect race that ultimately delivered another strong result for McLaren.
McLaren Achieves Fourth Consecutive Double Podium Finish
The statistics make it clear: McLaren is currently experiencing its best season in Formula 1 since the legendary 1988 campaign. That year remains almost unmatched in the sport’s history, with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost winning 15 of the 16 races. In 2025, the British team has developed a car that is clearly more competitive than most of its rivals, allowing both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to emerge as genuine title contenders. The result is an intra-team battle that has, so far, remained respectful and clean on track.
However, after Lando Norris secured victory at the Hungaroring, questions began to arise regarding whether both drivers are being treated equally within the team. Some observers pointed to the race strategy as evidence of potential favouritism towards the British driver, who is currently also fighting for the championship.
Norris Wins with One-Stop Strategy After Poor Start
At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lando Norris managed to clinch victory thanks to a one-stop strategy that became necessary after he lost two positions at the start of the race. While this approach was not initially part of McLaren’s plan, it proved to be decisive in the end. The #4 McLaren car had much more clean air compared to Oscar Piastri, who spent a significant portion of the race behind Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. That cost the Australian driver valuable time and may have impacted his final result. After the race, Oscar Piastri admitted there were elements of the strategy that needed reviewing with the team.
Despite the questions being raised, team principal Andrea Stella was quick to shut down any speculation of internal bias within McLaren’s strategic decisions.
Andrea Stella’s Clarification
According to Andrea Stella, “Lando ended up following a different strategy, which allowed him to drive in cleaner air and fully exploit the potential of the McLaren car. When we opted for the single-stop strategy, we honestly did not believe it would be viable. Full credit must go to Lando Norris, who managed to put in very competitive lap times on relatively worn tyres.”
Stella further explained that Oscar Piastri spent a considerable amount of time stuck behind Charles Leclerc, which likely cost him several seconds. Nonetheless, Stella insisted both drivers performed at an extremely high level. He emphasised that this was no surprise, as both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are highly talented drivers who continue to develop and improve with each race.
Commenting on Piastri’s second pit stop, which occurred on lap 45—five laps after Leclerc’s—Stella said: “Had we brought Oscar in earlier, he would still have emerged behind Lando Norris. The plan was to give him a tyre delta significant enough to allow him to overtake Charles Leclerc, and also to have a fair opportunity to challenge Lando for the win.”
He added that the team consulted Piastri shortly before Leclerc’s stop, giving him the option between attempting an undercut on the Ferrari driver or preserving tyre advantage for a late-race push on Norris. Piastri expressed his desire to be given a chance to fight for the race victory.
“With Charles Leclerc in mind, we wanted to ensure we did not stray too far from the optimal double-stop strategy,” Stella said. “Doing so would have been unfair to Oscar with regard to his battle with Lando. In the end, both race strategies turned out to be very similar in terms of tyre behaviour and effectiveness.”
On the Late-Race Close Call Between McLaren Drivers
Toward the end of the race, the two McLaren drivers came close to a collision, raising concerns about a potential incident. However, Andrea Stella played down the moment, saying, “When you have two exceptional drivers competing for Grand Prix victories and the World Championship, you can expect the racing to be intense. It was a serious but fair battle, fully aligned with our team values.”
He noted that Oscar Piastri experienced a minor lock-up in the closing stages, while Lando Norris left him a bit of room, knowing the Australian was pushing to the limit. Stella praised both drivers for the manner in which they competed and reaffirmed the team’s pride in their approach to racing.
“We are extremely proud of how both Lando and Oscar compete,” he concluded. “This is exactly the kind of racing that honours the spirit of Formula 1. These are the values that define McLaren. I sincerely hope the title battle will remain between them. That said, we saw Ferrari fighting for victory for two-thirds of the race, so it’s clear they’re still in the mix. I believe the final part of the 2025 season will be both entertaining and thrilling.”
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