McLaren deliver judgment on Lando Norris v Oscar Piastri duel at F1 Austrian Grand Prix

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says he was proud of how his drivers handled their battle at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris impressively resisted a race-long challenge from teammate Oscar Piastri to claim his third victory of the season and head a dominant McLaren 1-2 at the Red Bull Ring.

Piastri attacked Norris throughout the first stint but the duel remained clean, with the pair only coming close to contact on one occasion when Piastri locked up as he attempted a move down the inside of Turn 4.

Barring that one incident, Stella was delighted with how Norris and Piastri handled the situation, particularly after their coming together at the Canadian Grand Prix which ended Norris’s race.

“In terms of the battle between our two drivers, first of all I would like to say that I am very proud of how our two drivers raced today,” Stella told media including Crash.net in Spielberg. “I think that's pretty much exactly what we want to see as the McLaren Formula 1 team.

“We are here to race. We want to give our two drivers the possibility to express their talent, achieve their aspirations, but this needs to be done within the principles and the approach that we have contributed to build together with our drivers. And I think today that's what happened.

“There was only one situation in which the two cars ended up a little too close, when Oscar locked up and he ended up very close to Lando. We gave Oscar this feedback and I want to acknowledge and once again say that I am proud of Oscar, because as soon as he crossed the finish line, he said, ‘Sorry for the situation in corner four. My bad. I know what I have to do.’

“So I think it's all very clear. I am so refreshed by how the team reviewed the situation in Canada, which was a benign situation, it was just a misjudgment, and we have come out stronger and even more united from there.”

Piastri apologised to McLaren for Turn 4 move

Piastri, who has seen his championship lead over Norris cut to 15 points, apologised to McLaren after admitting to “pushing the boundaries” in the Turn 4 move which nearly resulted in him rear-ending his teammate.

After taking the chequered flag, Piastri said over team radio: “Sorry for the move in Turn Four. My bad.”

Reflecting on the battle following the race, Piastri added: “It was a tough battle. It was close at some points – probably pushing the limits a bit much from my side once or twice. But we're fighting for race wins in Formula 1. It's going to be pretty tough work and pretty hard.

“I thought it was an entertaining race. After the first stop, maybe we didn't do the right thing giving Lando some breathing room, but the first 20 laps were pretty intense. So, it was a good battle.

“I thought it was a fair comment [from the team]. Locking up and missing the back of your teammate by not a lot is certainly pushing the boundaries. Even if I hadn't been told anything, I didn't think it was a wise decision to try that one again. So, yeah, a fair comment and nothing more than that.”