Today’s Austrian GP was perhaps the most controversial F1 race of the last eighteen months. Norris and Verstappen’s collision will grab the headlines for the foreseeable future, as their rivalry intensifies. The same can be said for McLaren and Red Bull, with Andrea Stella giving some very strong statements post-race.
McLaren’s team principal can be credited with propelling the Woking-based outfit to the very front. However, competing with Red Bull and Verstappen for Championships is an entirely new playing field.
Although Piastri claimed a podium with P2, Stella is understandably frustrated at missing out on a potential victory.
After all, with Verstappen finishing P5 and Norris retiring, the incident’s net impact was that Verstappen extended his Championship lead.
According to the McLaren boss, the Dutchman was clearly to blame for the incident:
“I think the entire population in the world will know who is responsible, except for a group of people.
“But the problem behind it is that if you don’t address these things, honestly, they will come back.
“They came back today, because they were not addressed properly in the past, when there were some fights from Lewis that should have been punished in a harsher way.”
Andrea Stella: Verstappen’s actions are unnecessary
Stella’s comments show how rapidly tensions are escalating between McLaren and Red Bull.
Referencing the highly controversial 2021 season will only add fuel to the fire. Considering there are still 13 rounds left this year, further off and on-track exchanges between the British and Austrian teams can be expected.
Still, the Italian engineer ended on a somewhat diplomatic note:
“We have so much respect for Red Bull, so much respect for Max, they don’t need to do this. It’s a way almost to compromise your reputation.”
At this stage of the year, McLaren is arguably the fastest team. The consensus is that, since the MCL38’s Miami upgrades, this has been the case.
Therefore, whilst their overall trajectory has been brilliant, Stella’s squad is underachieving. Taking just one race win in the last seven races is not an impressive strike rate.
Moving forward, today’s race in Spielberg will serve as a reminder for Team Papaya of the heightened stakes at the front of F1.
