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?

Race Center
China Flag
Chinese GP
21 Mar 2025 - 23 Mar 2025
Free Practice 1
21 MAR 03:30 - 04:30
Sprint Qual
21 MAR 07:30 - 08:14
Sprint Race
22 MAR 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying
22 MAR 07:00 - 08:00
Race
23 MAR 07:00 - 09:00

2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
57
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.895s
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+8.481s
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
+12.773s
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+15.135s
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
+17.413s
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
+18.423s
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
+19.826s
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+20.448s
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+22.473s
Pierre Gasly
11
PIERRE
GASLY
+26.502s
Yuki Tsunoda
12
YUKI
TSUNODA
+29.884s
Esteban Ocon
13
ESTEBAN
OCON
+33.161s
Oliver Bearman
14
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+40.351s
Liam Lawson
15
LIAM
LAWSON
47 DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto
16
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
47 DNF
Fernando Alonso
17
FERNANDO
ALONSO
34 DNF
Carlos Sainz
18
CARLOS
SAINZ
0 DNF
Jack Doohan
19
JACK
DOOHAN
0 DNF
Isack Hadjar
20
ISACK
HADJAR
0 DNF
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
United States Flag
United States
Miami
04 May

2025 FORMULA 1 DRIVERS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
25 Points
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
18
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
15
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
12
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
10
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
8
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
6
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
4
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
2
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
1

2025 FORMULA 1 CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1
McLaren
27
2
Mercedes
25
3
Red Bull
18
4
Williams
12
5
Aston Martin
8
6
Sauber
6
7
Ferrari
5
8
Alpine F1
0
9
Haas F1
0
10
Racing Bulls
0
Go toTop

Don't Miss