McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has said that the race he regrets most this season was the Austrian Grand Prix, when Max Verstappen and Lando Norris made contact in the final laps.
The incident was a key moment in the season, as Verstappen pushed Norris wide, causing the two cars to touch and both drivers suffered punctures. This allowed Verstappen to maintain his lead and finish fifth, while Norris had to retire from the race.
Looking back after 10 more races, Stella called that moment McLaren’s biggest “regret” of the season.
“When I say keep doing what we are doing, I obviously mean this in a broad sense, but definitely I also mean this in a very specific sense,” Stella said in Sao Paulo. “I think we got some learning, for instance, from Austria.”
He explained, “We got a little too close. And the points we’re missing from Austria, because of having had a proper collision and then being knocked out of the race, are points that we regret.”
While some have criticized McLaren for making errors this season, such as not prioritizing Norris earlier, Stella said they don’t regret much besides Austria.
He continued, “We don’t really regret many other points in this season, potentially the one in Austin where we still believe that the final classification isn’t correct, but we respect the work of the stewards.”
Stella referred to the situation in Austin, where McLaren had asked for a review, but the decision was not overturned. He added, “We move on. So I think from Lando’s point of view, that’s the way it should be going racing. Lando reflects, also, in the way he goes racing, our own values. We race fair, we race in a correct way, we race in a sportsmanlike way.”
He also noted that in close battles like this, the stewards play a role. “We trust the stewarding. I think in Mexico this worked very well and we had good racing,” Stella said.
Verstappen’s victory in Sao Paulo has put him close to winning his fourth world title. He only needs to finish ahead of Norris in Las Vegas to secure the championship.
