"A great reward" for McLaren's employees, claim Stella after a dominant one-two finish at Silverstone
On the back of a dominant one-two finish for the Woking-based outfit at last Sunday's British Grand Prix, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella claimed that the Silverstone success was a "great reward" for the papaya team for its hard work.
McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris started from P2 and P3 on the grid at Sunday's British Grand Prix. Starting in the wet, the Australian managed to extract more grip from his inters than race-leader Verstappen could and picked off the Dutchman for the lead.
The Melbourne-born driver managed to build up an enormous lead of over 13 seconds over Verstappen and Norris. However, a safety car period meant that the championship leader lost his comfortable lead.
At the second Safety Car restart, Piastri braked heavily, and Verstappen shot past him. The stewards rules that the Australian had not followed procedure and handed him a 10-second time penalty. Just moments after this incident, Verstappen had spun at the exit of Stowe and dropped back.
It left Piastri and Norris at the front of the field, and they managed to build a huge advantage over the field. When the papaya cars pitted for slick tyres, Norris emerged ahead after Piastri served his penalty. That left the Brit to enjoy the last few laps before crossing the line to win his home race for the first time.
Asked to comment on McLaren's latest one-two finish at Silverstone, team boss Andrea Stella stated: “We leave our home race with a 1-2 and a win at home for Lando, which is a fantastic result and a great reward for the hard-working men and women of McLaren, many of whom were in the stands to witness this achievent.
With that said, the race was not a simple one, with changeable conditions and a penalty for Oscar which was difficult to take. We will look at that over the coming days and work to understand what could have been done differently.
"Oscar drove a fantastic race and made a great move for the lead of the race, and the team did well to calmly execute in difficult conditions.
“On Lando’s side, he executed an excellent race. His pace was quick throughout the race, and we’re pleased to have been able to win this special British Grand Prix with him. Our focus now turns to the final two races before the summer break, where we will look to score more wins and podiums.
“Thank you to all of the fans in the grandstands and events we’ve attended this week. Your support drives us forward and motivates us to keep pushing in this fascinating and exciting season of Formula 1.”
