McLaren Formula 1 team boss Andrea Stella believes Lando Norris blocking Sergio Perez played a crucial part in Oscar Piastri’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix victory.
Piastri was shadowing Ferrari’s leader Charles Leclerc in the first stint of a one-stop race when third-placed Sergio Perez attempted to undercut the McLaren driver by being the first to pit on lap 14. Rather than responding immediately, Piastri stayed out for two additional laps before his lap 16 pitstop, which saw him in danger of losing second to the Red Bull.
But in the wake of McLaren backing Norris in his title bid against Max Verstappen, Norris actually helped Piastri in Baku.
Having started 15th on the harder tyres, Norris had fallen a pitstop behind Perez and saw the Mexican come out behind him after his stop. As requested by his race engineer, Norris tried to hold up Perez for two laps, which allowed Piastri to make his pitstop and still come out ahead of the Red Bull.
Piastri’s quick in- and out-laps also cut his deficit to leader Leclerc once the Ferrari driver pitted, and on lap 20 the Australian made a late lunge to the inside of Turn 1 to take the lead of the race, which he would end up defending for a second career win.
McLaren team principal Stella felt Norris’ actions may well have been key to Piastri winning the race, as dropping behind Perez would have robbed the Australian of the chance to pass Leclerc before his tyres started fading too much in dirty air.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
«Perez was undercutting and effectively, without Lando’s help Perez could have pitted [and stayed] ahead of Oscar, and the race could have unfolded in a completely different way,» Stella said.
«So, I think 50% of Oscar’s victory today is shared with Lando and it just shows that we are approaching racing as one team. We had conversations before the weekend where we would bias one way or the other. But we approach every weekend trying to maximise the result for the team, and if one driver needs help, the other driver will do it.»
Stella admitted he first thought Piastri’s hair-raising pass on Leclerc in Turn 1 would end up in the run-off area.
«When I watched it live and I saw him going, my instinct said he’s going to go long, because the delay in the braking point,» he revealed.
«He came from quite far, and still he negotiated the apex. So yeah, I was surprised. But Oscar is always surprising us with his ability, and I would say today, he gave also a demonstration of his mental strength.
«He drove like a driver that has a lot of experience, that has been under this kind of pressure before, that can look with one eye at the mirror, with the other eye at where the braking point is.»
Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team, the McLaren team celebrate in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Poignantly, Piastri’s win and Norris’ strong recovery to fourth allowed McLaren to take over the lead of the constructors’ title for the first time in 10 years as it bids to defeat Red Bull, opening up a 20-point lead.
«As a milestone, it’s definitely huge,» Stella added. «Because we don’t have to forget that we were last when we started last season, and now we lead the classification.
«That has been possible thanks to the hard work, and the quality of the work of the entire team, the support from our shareholders, our partners, the fans — you achieve this because you achieve it together.»
A small price to pay for McLaren’s Baku success was a 5000 euro fine for some of its crew members heading towards parc ferme to celebrate before the end of the race, which was penalised by the stewards.