McLaren has been making Formula 1 headlines for all the right reasons. They have been the second-best team in the last few races and are looking genuinely quick. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been on the money, and Andrea Stella is a relieved man.
Revolving Race Engineers for Lando Norris
One unlikely reason for McLaren being in the news is the revolving nature of Lando Norris’ race engineers. The relationship between a driver and their race engineer is extremely important. This is why we see race engineers of dominant drivers becoming celebrities themselves. Two big examples are Peter Bonnington (Bono) for Lewis Hamilton and Gianpiero Lambiase (GP) for Max Verstappen.
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This is why it’s shocking to see Lando Norris change his regular race engineer Will Joseph regularly. The person who generally takes charge is his performance engineer, Jose Manual Lopez. Jose has been with Lando since 2020 and is, therefore, already quite comfortable with the Brit.
Andrea Stella has given a few reasons for this curious rotation of race engineers. He says both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have a group of engineers supporting them rather than the usual 2-3.
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McLaren are preparing for the long 24-race Formula 1 season scheduled for 2024. He believes that a 24-race season can be extremely grueling for people. Therefore, it is better to have multiple people sharing their roles instead of relying on one person.
Additionally, it also prepares various people for various roles. Thereby, McLaren won’t get handicapped should something happen to an individual. This practice also prepares the engineers in communicating effectively with the drivers. This progress is something the McLaren boss is extremely pleased with.
Yet another benefit of this practice is the improvement in communication between the engineers, said Andrea. According to him, this experience helps them understand the nuances of a driver’s wants. It also helps them talk efficiently with race strategists, molding them into better engineers.
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