F1 News

Andrea Stella And McLaren angry at Verstappen for crash

McLaren boss blames 2021 leniency for crash between Verstappen and Norris

30 June at 16:26
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  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Andrea Stella is furious with Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen for the crash during the Austrian Grand Prix. The McLaren team boss blames, in his opinion, the leniency allowed in the 2021 World Championship battle between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for the Dutchman's approach. He also says it will almost compromise Red Bull's reputation in Formula 1.

Verstappen and Norris were engaged in a multi-lap duel for the lead of the Austrian Grand Prix. Tensions increased on the team radio as Norris attacked Verstappen. For several laps, Verstappen successfully kept Norris behind, but eventually, the two drivers touched. It ruined both of their races, though Verstappen still finished fifth. Norris was forced to retire.

Stella is furious with Red Bull

The stewards deemed Verstappen at fault for the crash and handed him a ten-second penalty. Stella straight away took a dig at Red Bull. "I see that the entire population in the world know who is responsible, except for a group of people," Stella told Sky Sports, referring to the Austrian team.

"But the problem behind it is that if you don't address these things honestly, they will come back. They have come back today because they were not addressed properly in the past when there were some fights with Lewis Hamilton [in 2021]. That needed to be punished in a harsher way. Then, you learn how to race in a certain way, which we can consider fair and square," Stella highlighted.

"The fact is that we have so much respect for Red Bull, so much respect for Max. They don't need to do this. This is a way to almost compromise your reputation. Why would you do that? It's about racing within the regulations which must be enforced in a way that is effective. Because when a car is out of the race, as a consequence of this accident, the punishment needs to be proportionate to the outcome. We had it twice, moving under braking. So I think it's just evident we have to enforce the way to go racing because we want to have fun. We want to enjoy," Stella concluded.