P1racenews AI automatic summary:
McLaren boss Andrea Stella maintains the constructors’ champions are “not naive” to the perils of having two drivers fighting for F1 title honours.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella emphasizes that the team is aware of the risks involved in the close intra-team F1 drivers’ championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Norris currently leads the championship by 24 points after a strong performance in the São Paulo Grand Prix. Despite their lead over Max Verstappen, there is a looming threat of losing points to each other, potentially opening the door for the Red Bull driver to challenge. If Verstappen manages to secure his fifth title, it would mirror Kimi Raikkonen’s 2007 achievement of denying McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso the championship. Stella mentions that McLaren is drawing on historical F1 data to navigate the situation and praises the collaboration between Norris, Piastri, and the team as something unprecedented in the history of Formula 1.
