Norris "showed resilience" during his comeback drive, claims Stella
After another strong weekend from McLaren, the Woking-based outfit's team principal Andrea Stella praised both his drivers for their faultless drive during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen started from the pole position after having delivered an eye-catching performance in Saturday’s qualifying session. However, the Dutchman launched off the line well, but so did Oscar Piastri, and the pair went wheel-to-wheel into the first corner before Verstappen cut across the apex.
The reigning champion managed to hold on to the lead, but the stewards judged that he left the track and gained a lasting advantage by taking to the run-off area on the outside of the first corner. The Dutchman received a five-second penalty for his manoeuvre.
The Dutchman led until the pit stops, serving that penalty costing him a place to Piastri. From there, he couldn’t get close enough to put Piastri under any significant pressure.
The Aussie did not fail to capitalize on the situation, and took his second consecutive victory after his dominant performance in Sakhir to take over the championship lead, becoming the first Australian driver since Mark Webber to find himself on the top of the drivers’ standings.
As for Piastri’s team-mate Lando Norris, he had to work harder as he started from tenth on the grid. The Briton elected to start the race on the hards, and he worked his way up through the field in a long first stint.
While McLaren had been expected to dominate the race, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen’s surprisingly strong race pace meant that Norris failed to secure a podium place in Jeddah despite his eye-catching speed in the closing stages of the race.
Commenting on the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella noted: “We end this long triple header with another win for Oscar and a strong drive recovery for Lando.
"Firstly, I'd like to thank the team, both here at the track and back in Woking, as well as our colleagues at HPP, for their hard work throughout this triple header. In particular this weekend, I would like to commend the team on their excellent work getting Lando’s car ready for today’s race.
“On Oscar’s side, he drove an excellent race, and was able to convert his front-row start into a win, thanks to some smart and calm driving. This was a well-deserved win for Oscar.
"Meanwhile, Lando was able to put a difficult Qualifying behind him and showed his resilience as he fought his way back through the field, scoring important points.
“We’ll now take some time to regroup with the team in Woking as we prepare to head to Miami for the next round of what is proving to be an extremely competitive and exciting season of Formula 1.”
