McLaren’s big lesson: ‘Never prepare the flight plan as you fly'
McLaren will head into its summer break with a big lesson to ponder, according to team boss Andrea Stella, one derived from its controversial management of team orders in last month’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
In Budapest, McLaren put drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on the verge of a potential conflict due to what many believed was a poorly managed situation that also took a layer of shine off the Australian driver’s maiden Grand Prix win.
With the team’s drivers comfortably leading proceedings in the second half of the race, McLaren’s strategists opted to pit Norris – who was running second – before Piastri in a bid to prevent rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen from undercutting the Briton and to protect team papaya’s one-two.
But by keeping Piastri out on track longer, it left the Aussie vulnerable to an undercut by Norris, which was exactly what happened.
Despite initial reluctance, Norris eventually yielded the lead to his teammate, but the tense exchange between the driver and race engineer Will Joseph only underlined the team's dicey strategy and the potential for serious consequences had Norris refused to comply with team orders.
Although a one-two finish would have been possible regardless of Norris' decision, the situation could have escalated into a significant team conflict.
Speaking in Spa last weekend, Stella acknowledged that McLaren had been caught out by the scenario that played in Hungary. But the clear oversight left the team with a valuable lesson as the McLaren boss explained.
"One point that we definitely take on board is that we should have prepared the situation better, before the race, so that you never find yourself preparing the flight plan as you fly," Stella said.
"That's a golden rule in any kind of challenging situation, and this is a responsibility of the team - it's my responsibility.
"We entered the race having planned many, many things, but this one actually was left undiscussed, so this is definitely something we take on board as a team."
While McLaren’s recent mistakes are highly visible and create noise, they are ultimately opportunities for learning and improvement, as Stella stressed with the help of a simple metaphor.
"We say at McLaren internally, what's important is that we keep building, building, building and building," the Italian explained.
"And sometimes when you have a tree falling, even if it's very loud, actually what's important is to think about the forest growing, which is silent - and sometimes, this tree falling gives you so much information to help the forest grow.
"So, this is my takeaway, which I share with you pretty openly, but that's a good reflection of the culture we have at McLaren."
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