Norris and Piastri handed stark warning by McLaren

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has warned his drivers they must obey the squad's racing principles throughout the upcoming F1 season to avoid potential intra-team conflict.

The Woking-based squad is tipped to be a title contender for the new campaign, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri hunting for their first titles.

The duo is regarded as one of the strongest line-ups on the grid and their efforts clinched the constructors' championship for McLaren last year, ending a 26-year wait.

With the drivers starting from a clean slate in 2025, Norris and Piastri will both be hunting for personal glory.

Stella hailed the drivers for their attitude throughout last year and how they conducted themselves when reviewing particular circumstances of note.

“The team is in the lucky position of having two drivers that can contend for victories, like they have already proven, and can contend for championships, if the car will be good enough, and to actually be competitive,” Stella told select media including RacingNews365.

“The main aspect is that both drivers start the season with equal opportunities.

“Our fundamentals are based on the racing principles that we already used last year. 

“We reviewed all the situations in which there was a proximity between the two drivers, and I was quite impressed by how well they behaved.

“One point I'm quite proud to share is that when we reviewed last season, the drivers and the team, we always looked at ourselves - 'I could have done this better', rather than Lando saying, ‘Oh, Oscar should have done this better’, and Oscar saying ‘Lando should have done this better’.”

In the latter stage of the 2024 season, McLaren placed its focus into maximising points for Norris, who was better placed to catch Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings.

However, the Briton came up short and was forced to settle for the runner-up spot in the championship.

Stella outlined McLaren will reset and treat both drivers as equals at the start of the new season - but warned they must not deviate from the philosophy in place.

“So I think we take some learning from last year, but already, that was positive in terms of how we interacted together as a team,” he said.

“Then we will start from this concept of equal opportunities and our racing principles. 

“And the racing principles, it's important to say that they are representative, not only of what the team believe, in terms of how we go racing, but also what the drivers believe as to how we go racing.

“If a driver is not fully into these principles, then that's not the right driver for McLaren.”