Stella Backs Norris to Challenge for World Championship

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has expressed unwavering confidence in Lando Norris’ ability to compete at the highest level of Formula 1. Despite Norris’ self-critical assessment of his performance in the early part of the season, Stella believes the young British driver possesses the talent and potential to challenge for world championships.

While Norris currently trails Max Verstappen by a significant margin in the driver standings, Stella insists that the gap is not insurmountable. The McLaren boss attributes some of Norris’ struggles to factors beyond his control, such as team errors and strategic mishaps.

Stella highlights Norris' world-class potential:

“He definitely has the potential of a world champion, and he is performing at world championship level.”
“If we compare against perfection, then definitely we have opportunities [to improve].”
“Lando has always been very open and transparent with the team, and we are together in trying to nail and polish all the possible situations in which we need to be better at delivering according to the potential.”

Addressing Norris' self-criticism:

“He tends to look occasionally at the half empty part of the glass.”
“I like that we compare ourselves against perfection, because this is what we need to do.”

Focusing on team improvements:

“Some of the opportunities [for improvement] coming in the first lap, for instance, and trying to find the balance between being aggressive or simply staying away from situations or accidents.”
“We definitely have some things to clean up on the start itself, which is not only [down to the] driver, but also the team’s responsibility.”
“Then I think he had a couple of situations in the races in which he might have taken some of the responsibility, but I think it was the team’s responsibility.”

Looking ahead to the remainder of the season:

“Numerically, from a drivers’ championship point of view, it looks like there’s a big gap to fill, and we are chasing Max Verstappen, so definitely he’s not going to make it easy for us.”
“But we are excited to be in this position, and definitely Lando is not in this position because somebody helped him – Lando is in this position because he performs very strongly.”

In conclusion, Andrea Stella remains unwavering in his belief that Lando Norris has the potential to be a world champion. While acknowledging the challenges ahead, Stella emphasizes that Norris’ talent and determination, combined with the team’s continuous improvement, can propel them towards future success.