Andrea Stella addresses McLaren’s alleged ’emotional bias’ towards Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri

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McLaren have responded to accusations that they’re giving preferential treatment to Lando Norris in his F1 title battle with Oscar Piastri. Andrea Stella has called it a ‘very superficial’ take.

Some F1 paddock insiders think McLaren are favouring Norris after a number of controversial team decisions went his way. Piastri was told to give up second place at Monza after his teammate’s slow pit stop, though he was only running there in the first place because he’d been allowed to come in first.

In Singapore, Norris was allowed to keep P2 despite making contact with the sister car at the start of the race. After the incident was reviewed, Piastri was given a preferential qualifying run plan in the USA, only to lose that privilege for his role in a Sprint crash involving the two cars.

While few in F1 have made such a claim publicly, Bernie Ecclestone openly says that McLaren want Norris to win the title. The British driver leads by a point after his dominant Mexico win, having overturned a deficit of 35.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are both ‘sons’ to Andrea Stella

During an appearance on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, host Tom Clarkson asked Stella: “Has [Norris’] loyalty to the team created an emotional bias within the people here more towards him, than towards Oscar, who’s only in his third year with the team?”

Norris has raced for McLaren since 2019, whereas Piastri only joined in 2023. The former will reach 150 appearances for the team in Las Vegas.

When Norris joined, McLaren hadn’t scored a podium for five years, so Piastri has benefited from the work his teammate put in to bring the papaya outfit back to the top.

But Stella says he views both drivers as his ‘sons’, looking at both of them with equal gratitude.

“[Oscar has shown] the same kind of commitment to the team, the same all-in [mentality] to the team, full support to the team,” he said. “When you are in my role, it’s like you have two sons.

“Somebody says to you, ‘Which one is your preferred son?’, they are my two sons! How can you say which one is the preferred one!”

“Sometimes when I read or hear comments of this kind, I find them very superficial, and sometimes people don’t really understand what it means to understand to have two drivers that are with you together in this journey. I just feel very grateful to both in fairness.”

‘I understand what it looks like from the outside’ – Zak Brown on McLaren’s management

Max Verstappen joked that McLaren were backing Norris in a recent press conference, though it seems this was a light-hearted attempt to create headlines.

McLaren have allowed the two drivers to race all season and are adamant that they won’t change that philosophy even with Verstappen sitting an uncomfortable 35 points back.

When it comes to pit stops, both drivers are allowed to explore a range of options to beat their teammate – an unusual amount of freedom.

Norris beat Piastri with an alternative strategy in Hungary, and some in the paddock thought the Australian, who had been running ahead, had the right to be upset.

But Zak Brown genuinely didn’t think Norris’ gamble would pay off, so it was hardly the preferred strategy at the time.

While he acknowledges the questionable optics at races like Monza – ‘I understand what it looks like from the outside’ – Brown has promised fans that McLaren are ‘trying so hard’ to give the drivers ‘equal opportunity’.