McLaren team principal Andrea Stella insists the Woking-based squad is "not naive" to the risks associated with the intra-team F1 drivers' championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
The team-mates are locked into a tense contest, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen still in the hunt with only three rounds of the campaign remaining.
Norris took maximum points at the São Paulo Grand Prix, winning both the sprint and the full-distance race from pole. It has put the Briton 24 points ahead of Piastri, who endured another difficult weekend.
Whilst they have a 49 and 25 point advantage, respectively, over the Dutchman, the threat of taking points from one another — or worse — remains, something that could open the door to the 68-time grand prix winner.
If Verstappen does manage to snatch his fifth title from the hands of the papaya pair, it will emulate the achievement of Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, when the Finnish driver snuck in the back door to deny Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who were racing for McLaren at the time.
However, following the weekend at Interlagos, the four-time F1 drivers' champion's hopes of adding a fifth crown have considerably.
Nonetheless, the jeopardy facing Norris, Piastri and their bosses is well-covered ground at this point, and Stella has explained how the team is leaning on empirical evidence from F1's past to inform its approach to the title fight.
"The history of Formula 1 is certainly a source that we've been using to make sure that we have calibrated over time how to approach managing two number one drivers that are in contention for a world driver's championship," the Italian told media, including RacingNews365.
"Lando, Oscar, and the team have done very well so far. I am personally very proud of our two drivers, our engineers.
"They collaborate in a way that I think we have not seen before in the history of Formula 1."
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A clear message
Stella championed the "mutual support" shared between his drivers, but maintained McLaren was not blind to the dangers of the situation the team finds itself in.
"We are not naive," the 54-year-old added. "We know that the pressure is high. We know that the stake is big, but we will continue leaning on our framework, on our principles, on the good conversations.
"And so far, what I've seen is that Lando and Oscar have always been very supportive... Oscar talked very clearly about the respect – the mutual respect, the mutual support that is happening between himself and the team and likewise is happening with Lando.
"So we are in a strong position. We are not naive, but we will work very hard to make sure that this position stays until the end of the championship."
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