McLaren hope to avoid Senna-Prost repeat with Norris and Verstappen

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is hoping there will be no repeat of F1 history when Lando Norris and Max Verstappen go head-to-head at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix.

Stella opted to reference what unfolded between legendary rivals Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost and their infamous incidents in 1989 and 1990 at the start of the Japanese Grands Prix.

It followed a qualifying which saw Norris unsurprisingly on pole but Verstappen surprisingly alongside him on the front row of the grid following a remarkable turnaround in the performance of the RB20 from Friday into Saturday.

It means the two title protagonists, with Norris trailing Verstappen by 59 points, will fight it out around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, particularly into the first two corners where incidents have previously occurred.

"I would have preferred the grid with two McLarens, P1, P2," said Stella, referencing the fact Oscar Piastri will only start fifth after finishing four-tenths of a second behind Norris. "It would have given us a little bit of protection.

"But from a racing, from an F1, from a spectacle point of view, that's a very interesting grid.

"I do hope that the race unfolds with no issues. None of the drivers want to see this kind of Prost-Senna in Suzuka.

"We want to go racing, we want the best car to win races. We want to have this kind of excitement that we had over the last few races."

Norris v Verstappen makes it "more tense"

Norris has been prone to poor starts this season. Another will leave him vulnerable to a Verstappen attack through the first turns.

Stella is confident, however, that if Norris can keep Verstappen at bay in the opening exchanges then he will go on to win the race. 

"Our car has been very strong on long runs, so I think if we can take the lead, then we should be able to take control of the race because we are very encouraged by the high-fuel pace," said Stella.

"Verstappen may try and see how he can take the lead. He will even be thinking from a strategic point of view of how this is made possible."

Referencing third-on-the-grid Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes, Stella said: "I hope that Hamilton, because of his past with McLaren, will help us a little bit and close the first lap ahead of Verstappen, and this may help Lando...obviously, I'm joking!"

Returning to again what might unfold between Norris and Verstappen, he concluded: "But definitely having Lando and Max next to each other will make our evening more tense.

"But I think if Lando takes the lead, the performance we have in the car, and in Lando himself, is very promising for the race."