McLaren F1 'Felt Responsible' for Norris's Victory Drought

Stella expresses commitment to enhancing Lando Norris’s opportunities for victories in upcoming races.

Andrea Stella, the McLaren F1 Team Principal, believes it was the team’s responsibility to provide Lando Norris with a car capable of winning. The Italian admits that the absence of victories for his driver so far was as much the team’s responsibility as it was the driver’s.

“In reality, it was somewhat of a burden on his shoulders,” said Stella. “But it was also a burden on our shoulders, as we knew that once we provided Lando with the necessary equipment to win, he would do so. We therefore felt responsible and I have said this multiple times. We feel it depends on us, not on Lando.”

“But it’s to Lando’s credit that he continued to develop, as he did over the winter, especially in seeking to improve in qualifying and delivering laps that sometimes don’t need to be at 100% when you have a fast car. You just need to be there. And I think that’s what he does.”

Stella also praises Norris’s progress in race management: “And I must say his race management is now very mature. As soon as he saw there was little to be done after the first lap, he began to save tires, save tires, because he knew his race would come at some point.”

“And then the pace he managed to set once the cars in front of him pitted was quite incredible. He is fast in qualifying, even if he has sometimes gone astray, he has shown great maturity in races to make the most of his capabilities.”

“My role is to serve and represent the team.”

Stella refuses to take credit for McLaren’s victory and the team’s resurgence, reminding us that it involves a structure of several hundred people: “A victory as a team director is just like a victory for the team.”

“My role is simply to serve and represent the team, so what you see today in one person, you will see in 850 others. That is where my thoughts, my heart, and my mind go, because I know the kind of work we have done together to turn things around from 14 months ago.”

“Then there’s the quality, because all teams will give their all. Ultimately, it’s the combination of effort, quantity, and quality. That’s the element I would like to emphasize most—the quality of the engineers, technicians, operators, mechanics, everyone.”

“This is what we call total competition. There is a huge and extensive effort that you must provide together. As a team director, that’s what I have in front of me right now. You don’t get very far if you don’t have the right people.”