Does Stella Believe in Norris Despite Marko’s Critique

Is Norris Still Prone to Costly Errors on Track?

07/11/2024

McLaren’s Andrea Stella responds firmly to Dr. Marko’s critique, defending Norris’s performance and addressing claims of recurring race errors.

In his praise for Max Verstappen following the Brazilian Grand Prix, Dr. Helmut Marko took a jab at Lando Norris.

The Red Bull consultant described his driver as a “true champion,” whereas the Briton had a rather average race, marked by numerous errors (read more here).

“Max was flawless, and the same can’t be said for Norris,” remarked Marko.

This prompted a response from Andrea Stella, McLaren F1’s director, when asked whether his driver indeed makes too many mistakes to beat a peak-form Verstappen in such challenging weather conditions.

“No, I don’t think that’s a fair assessment of Lando,” Stella replied.

“First, I want to acknowledge that Max is now the strong favorite for the World Championship. Of course, he was already the favorite, to be honest. He’s a fantastic driver, he did a fantastic job, and Lando is behind him at the moment.”

“We’re proud of our position, and Lando should be very proud of his performance.”

“A race like Brazil can happen; issues can arise here and there. We’ll learn from it, Lando will as well, and we’ll come back even stronger.”

Verstappen may indeed be the strong favorite for the drivers’ title, but Stella isn’t ready to give up: 2025 could be Norris’s year.

“The dream endures for next season; the cars will be very similar next year. Overall, we’ve seen a remarkable and rapid development curve. We’ll draw valuable lessons from it as well.”

“Let’s secure the constructors’ title first. And if we don’t win with Lando this year, which is likely, we’ll return even stronger next year to contend for both titles from the start of the season.”

Does Stella Believe in Norris Despite Marko’s Critique? Does Stella Believe in Norris Despite Marko’s Critique?

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