Stella downplays Piastri's anger as Norris asserts dominance.

      Andrea Stella has downplayed Oscar Piastri’s intense radio outburst during the Hungarian Grand Prix as discussions persist regarding the Australian's role alongside reigning world champion Lando Norris. Piastri was leading for nearly half the race, but after his pit stop, he encountered traffic and collided with backmarker Carlos Sainz, which allowed Norris to come out ahead following his own stop. When engineer Tom Stallard tried to explain the time lost, Piastri responded sharply: "Oh mate, it’s better you don’t f**king talk to me right now. Nice of you guys to factor that one in by the way, thanks."

      Stella mentioned that Piastri had calmed down by the time of the post-race briefing. "Immediately after the race, Oscar made it clear that his radio comments were made in the heat of the moment, when he was upset," the McLaren team principal stated. "There were a few unfortunate events. Meanwhile, Lando's pace was simply exceptional when he had a clear track."

      "I think he was gaining about half a second per lap, and that performance resulted in Lando finishing ahead of Oscar." Stella dismissed claims that McLaren’s strategy was intended to disadvantage Piastri in favor of Norris. "The field was quite close, and we had to decide at one point whether to cover ourselves or not," the Italian explained. "Oscar then lost time while lapping other cars. At the same time, Lando displayed remarkable pace and created enough of a gap to pit and rejoin in front of Oscar."

      "We're still very proud of both drivers." Piastri later acknowledged that McLaren could not have anticipated the collision with Sainz. "From a strategy perspective, you can’t plan for being taken out by a backmarker," he remarked. "So I can’t assign any blame to the team." Nonetheless, this outburst comes amid rising tension between McLaren’s drivers throughout the 2025 championship campaign, while speculation about Piastri potentially moving to Red Bull continues. Ralf Schumacher believes that Norris' position within the team has now become clear after the reigning champion’s first victory of the season.

      "Norris is definitely a victor," the Sky Deutschland analyst said. "Since he turned things around last year and became world champion, he has emerged as a true leader. He consistently pushes himself to the limit without going overboard, rarely makes mistakes now, acknowledges when he can’t win, and continues to collaborate constructively within the team."