Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri handed F1 title vow ahead of key weekend

Andrea Stella has asserted McLaren will not change its approach to driver management even if the team wins the constructors' championship this weekend.

The Woking-based outfit can clinch its first title of the year in Baku on Sunday as it holds a mammoth 337-point lead over the competition in the standings.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been tightly managed by McLaren so far this season, even in the aftermath of a clash in Canada and a team order controversy last time out in Italy.

Stella asserted McLaren will prioritise maintaining team unity going forward, even if it is no longer in the clutches of its rivals in the championship fight.

“The approach to the drivers’ title will not change,” Stella told the media, including RacingNews365. 

“This is not dependent on the constructors'. The way we go racing is dependent on the racing principles, on the values that we embody as McLaren Racing.

“It is also a reflection of the fact that we want to protect the unity of the team, which is a foundational condition for the future.”

McLaren took over the lead of the constructors' championship after last year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix and has not relinquished its position since.

As it closes in on its 10th team title, and with it becoming only the second in F1 history to hit double figures, Stella asserted McLaren is not getting ahead of itself.

“First of all, let's go and win it,” he said. “It's not ours yet. In terms of the feeling we have at the moment in this quest for the 2025 title, they are different to last year.

“Last year, the championship came as a surprise, much earlier than expected in terms of the trajectory of the team. 

“Only in Miami could we take the first victory. Actually, it was here in Baku that we took the lead in the championship. And at the end, it was a great surprise and a great joy.”