McLaren thwarts Norris’ quest for a podium at F1’s Japan Grand Prix.

McLaren Team boss Andrea Stella has admitted that the team risked Lando Norris’ race time in pursuit of a podium finish at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix. Despite qualifying in third place, Norris was unable to repeat his results of last season as he finished behind two Ferrari cars. The race took a turn for the worse when the faster Ferrari of Carlos Sainz put pressure on Norris in the early laps, prompting McLaren to make a pit stop to avoid the threat of the underpass. However, this decision ended up costing Norris, as McLaren chose to be behind Charles Leclerc, who only made one stop and climbed from eighth to fourth. Ferrari took a different approach to Sainz, allowing him to go long before charging through the field in the final laps to overtake Leclerc and Norris. Stella insists that McLaren has no regrets about their strategic choices, as they were aiming to prioritize a podium finish. He explains that they met with Norris earlier to assess their chances of achieving this goal and even considered passing Sergio Perez. Stella believes that, while this strategy may not have been the most optimized in terms of overall race time, it was worth a shot. He expresses his satisfaction with the decision to finish the podium for Norris.

Norris questioned the timing of his second pit stop, as it caused him to lose his early advantage over Leclerc and ended up behind George Russell’s Mercedes coming out of the pits. Although Norris managed to pass Russell with a late braking maneuver at 1, he was unable to regain the ground lost to Leclerc. Stella admits that the second stop time was affected by the actions of Leclerc and the approaching Carlos Sainz. If Sainz had passed Norris, it would have cost Norris valuable time and he would have ended up behind Lewis Hamilton and Russell. Stella emphasizes that when competing against multiple cars, there are several factors to consider, making the race more difficult. He admits that this may not be fun for the audience, but it adds to the challenges the teams face in deciding who they are competing against.

Stella denies it was impossible to overtake Sainz for third place due to Ferrari’s speed advantage, but believes it was possible to split the drivers from the Italian team. Asked if McLaren could hold on to Leclerc, Stella replied, “I don’t think we could have done much more today, especially finishing on the podium. Maybe if we had given up on the podium, we could have finished ahead of Leclerc and Lando. That’s the only opportunity in hindsight, but we weren’t ready to stop finishing the podium.”

On the other hand, Piastri had a smooth race that ended with an elbow fault on the last lap, allowing Russell to take seventh place. “For Oscar, there weren’t many different options today,” analyzed Stella. “If we look at the final position, it is in line with the competition of cars. It’s just a shame that, with Oscar’s last mistake, we lost the chance to Russell. Otherwise, we would have finished ahead of Mercedes. Considering the good performance of Fernando Alonso, this changes the car’s competitiveness a little.

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Portugal wins the Euro 2024 title

Last Sunday, the Portuguese national football team won the long-awaited Euro 2024 title. The team, led by coach Fernando Santos, had a good campaign during the tournament and showed all their talents on the field.

The final, held at the National Stadium of Portugal, was exciting from start to finish. Portugal faced the Spanish national team in a tight match that ended in a goalless draw in normal time. The decision went to extra time, and with Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal, Portugal emerged victorious and assured the country the championship.

Winning Euro 2024 is a historic step for Portuguese football. With this victory, Portugal establishes itself as one of the great forces in the game, showing its strength and skill in international competitions.

The Portuguese team had excellent performances throughout the tournament. In addition to Cristiano Ronaldo, who was the best scorer of the competition, other players like Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, and Diogo Jota also had a good performance, which contributed to the team’s success.

Portugal’s fans were essential throughout Euro 2024. The supporters showed up in force in the stadiums, cheering on the team and pushing the players towards victory. It was the support of the fans that decided to take the title.

Now, the Portuguese national team is preparing for a new challenge. The next goal is the 2026 World Cup, where Portugal will again aim to show its quality and compete for the world championship.

Portugal is celebrating the victory of Euro 2024. The nation is proud of its team and celebrates the victory that puts the country at the top of European football. Congratulations, Portugal!