McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has praised Lando Norris for creating a positive and productive working atmosphere within the team, and particularly with his teammate Oscar Piastri.
Despite a small bump in the road during the Italian Grand Prix when the two drivers touched wheels, the first year of Norris’ and Piastri’s partnership was relatively smooth sailing for McLaren.
Pairing two young and ambitious drivers of similar talent isn’t without its risks for the team as their rivalry heightens.
Stella believes that Piastri's and Norris's complementary driving characteristics allow them to learn from each other and push each other to improve.
He notes that the two drivers have a habit of reviewing each other's data and picking up tips from one another.
This collaborative spirit has not only benefited their individual performances but has also contributed to the team's overall success.
But the Italian is particularly complimentary towards Norris for his ability to foster such a supportive and collaborative environment.
“The relationship between Lando and Oscar is the point of strength of our team,” commented the Italian.
“I have to say that being Lando's teammate is enjoyable because we have seen this kind of relationship already with Carlos [Sainz], with Daniel [Ricciardo].
©McLaren
“Therefore, I would like to recognise, to acknowledge how much Lando creates the condition for establishing a fruitful kind of relationship that supports the team, and supports the growth of both drivers.
“And then we have got Oscar who came with similar characteristics.
“So with the natural process of getting to know each other, gradually, we can see that now this has created a very, very functional collaboration between the two drivers.
“I've always acknowledged how much, to some extent, they have almost complimentary characteristics from a driving and technical point of view.
“It means from free practice one, looking at each other's overlays, they can pick things out – (Lando saying) I can do better here because I know Oscar tends to be good, and Oscar may say the opposite in looking at Lando's data, which I think has contributed to him picking up over the weekends.
“So we look forward this year to taking one more step, even in relation, to the way the drivers collaborate with each other, and the way they collaborate with the team.”
While McLaren's technical advancements have been impressive, Stella still sees room for improvement on the operational side of things and in terms of overall team coordination.
However, the McLaren drivers’ strong rapport is certainly conducive to creating a strong foundation for further collaboration and improvement.
“If we think about the opportunities that we have, looking at the future, we always talk about the technical aspects of the car,” added Stella.
“But definitely from last season we could see from an operational point of view, we could have done better.
“There were some qualifying sessions in which we qualified in a position that wasn't as good as the car could be, and normally, this comes down to good collaboration, good work between drivers and engineers, and then the team overall.
“So there's a lot to cash in on the collaboration between the drivers, and we are in a very good place from this point of view, and then the drivers with the team.
“So I would say we look forward to the future, and I look forward to seeing how this collaboration will develop.”
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