Stella reckons McLaren will work "as a united and cohesive group" after Qatar's strategy blunder
Following McLaren's strategy blunder at last Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix, the Woking-based outfit's leader Andrea Stella reckoned that the papaya team will work "as a united and cohesive group."
Starting from pole position, Oscar Piastri made a great start, leading on the first lap. He looked on course to take a victory after his win in the Sprint, but things took a negative turn when the safety car was deployed.
Piastri did everything he could to create a gap, building up a sizeable margin from Verstappen after the safety car left the track. However, the Dutchman managed to raise his pace in the second half of the 57-lap encounter which left Piastri without any chance of converting his dominant performance into a race victory.
As for his team-mate Lando Norris, he lost second place at the start. Although he looked quick, he was unable to replicate Piastri’s pace which meant that he could not even build enough of a gap to stay ahead of Carlos Sainz and Andrea Kimi Antonelli after his second stop.
The Briton had looked set to finish fifth, but Antonelli made a mistake on the penultimate lap which allowed Norris to slip through to limit the damage in the championship fight.
The Woking-based outfit's leader Andrea Stella reckoned that the papaya team will work "as a united and cohesive group" to learn from the mistakes.
"Last Sunday's race result is a huge disappointment; there's no point hiding it. We had the potential to win and to have both drivers on the podium, but we made an error of judgment during the Safety Car period and paid dearly for it.
"We had the fastest car, and the drivers did a great job, but as a team we didn't deliver for them. We will react to this setback as we always have, learning from our mistakes and working as a united and cohesive group. This is a team based on important values, and we will prove it once again.
Signing off with a word for the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Stella said: "Now we must prepare ourselves in the best possible way for the final race. We still have every chance of achieving our goals.
"Let's not forget that we are still leading the Championship and both our drivers have a chance to win the title. It won't be easy, but we are channelling our disappointment into total determination."
