F1: Piastri vs Norris, a battle that McLaren has decaffeinated
The battle for the title of F1 pilots among colleagues Norris and Piastri has lacked emotion thanks to McLaren.
What should be an epic battle for the title of pilots of the Formula 1 It could become a bureaucratic, tasteless and decaffeinated seasonal 2025, where McLaren Dictate to Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris The order of arrival.
The ridiculous decision of McLaren, headed by his main team Andrea Stellato compensate Norris and harm Piastri in the Italy Grand Prix in Monza was a total aberration to the spirit of competence of F1.
Stella said that having asked the Australian and leader of points classification to give in the second place in Monza, was an act of justice towards British Norris, since an error in the McLaren CREW Pits had affected Lando.
Piastri obeyed, but recalled that a bad stop in Pits is part of the races, like any other circumstance, but in the end he hired and, as who gives way to an old man in the row of the super market, Oscar put the carpet for the passage of Norris.
McLaren’s decision in Monza feels a preceding ugly
McLaren’s arguments were that Lando Norris had gone the whole race in front of Oscar Piastri and that the most fair is that the error of the mechanic of the air gun from the left front tire, did not mean that Piastri ended up in front of Norris.
McLaren wants to wash his hands. He does not want it to be said that because of the team one or another pilot was left without the opportunity to be champion. But, it seems, that the burden that, after the abandonment of Norris in Zandvoort for a mechanical failure, in the next race now was a human error that would affect the result now.
But what will McLaren do from now on? To compensate with team orders the circumstances of the career? To demand identical strategies on both sides of the garage? Prohibit undercuts and overcuts?
McLaren had done well, but now …
Until now, McLaren had been fair with his pilots, except for some strategy, where Norris had the best part, the papaya team had respected the one who made more merits because he was ahead, even without avoiding contact with the Canada GP.
Some started with a position for position and other situations gave the feeling that McLaren had no intention of giving orders or interfering … until Monza.
Andrea Stella wants to control everything
Andrea Stella’s statements, after the Italian Grand Prix were those of a man who felt his job had done well, who, like King Solomon, had avoided the tragedy and had brought the truth to light.
According to him, the order to Piastri was not to charge him when Lando was almost forced to return the triumph in Hungary, he had nothing to do with that, although it was the first thing that career engineer Tom Stallard told Oscar’s radio: “Do you remember Hungary? We are going to do something similar …”.
Stella wants to control everything, her more than analytical gaze is inquisitor. Just see how each cell phone and digital recorder accommodate at the table where you give your conference to the written media, after each race. Stella forms half circles, parables with each accommodating device equidistant one of the other and all in an almost millimeter order and alignment.
Well, with that compulsion in order, Stella tried to play the God who, with a movement of the index of his right hand, directed the life of mortals. A capricious, but generous Zeus.
British team, British pilot …
Stella knows that he could not look good with his decision, so he chose that it was better to end the theory that the team deliberately affected Lando Norris, but the only way to do it was benefiting it.
McLaren belongs to 100% of his actions to the investor group of Abu Dhabi, Mumtalakat and Cyvn Holdings, but is still a British team, with English pedigree, based in Woking, England.
Although the CEO is the American Zak Brown, McLaren is as English as Manchester City, Liverpool or Chelsea, even if the owners are from Emirates or the United States.
F1 is a sport that was born, grew and dwells in Britain. A large majority of F1 employees, from engineers, mechanics and all kinds of factories and plants, are British. 85% of the press that covers the category every day are English.
Lando Norris is British. The fact that it was harmed by the second GP by the team was unleashing a wave of plot theories in favor of Piastri. Better conspiracy focuses that they prefer Norris, at least this will no longer increase the difference between pilots.
McLaren is not going to shoot in the foot …
The Woking team has, virtually, in the Exchange the F1 Construction Championship. In fact it is almost impossible not to ensure September 21 at the street circuit of Baku in Azerbaijan.
Letting your pilots run will not affect you in the team title, so in the eight dates that you have left to the calendar.
But now there is the dilemma, will Stella want to control every centimeter of the race and with it will subtract interest and evaporate the hope of seeing an epic struggle for the title? Or will you have learned the lesson and let your pilots run freely and that career circumstances affect or benefit whoever touches?
Anyway, at some point they are going to play Piastri and Norris
As the season progresses and less leaves are left to the calendar, the pressure will increase and the apprehension of the pilots will cause at least a contact between them.
You can let your coequipero pass when eight races are missing and you have 34 points ahead, but if you reach a curve with one or two GP’s ahead and a few units, courtesy, discipline and obedience will go for the drain.
This will happen, with or without control of Andrea Stella, but in the meantime, the eagerness of McLaren’s ‘justice’ can break the end of the season, where the only one who can bother, a little, to the papaya is Max Verstappen, but the Dutch has no real chance of being a champion. So the popular clamor is “Let them run!”
