McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella argued that Lando Norris rose to Max Verstappen’s level in 2024 as soon as he was given a comparable Formula 1 package.
The start of the 2024 season was all Verstappen and the Dutchman won seven of the first 10 races with the RB20 the strongest package out of the gate.
McLaren had a slower start in comparison, but Norris’ second-place finish in Round 5 at the Chinese Grand Prix was a glimmer of what was to come.
An upgraded MCL38 arrived in Miami and Norris delivered a maiden GP victory and mounted a title challenge thereafter.
READ MORE – Lando Norris vows to get his ‘elbows out’ more against Max Verstappen in F1 2025
That challenge came up short, with Stella arguing McLaren needs to hit the ground running in 2025 to help Norris achieve a maiden title, given he was on a par with Verstappen last year once he had the proper machinery.
“I think there are two main takeaways from last season,” Stella said during the Thursday launch of McLaren’s 2025 F1 machine.
“The first one is that the main deficit of points in the championship between Lando and Max was accumulated at the start of the season.
“So that’s my reference to the performance of the car, because if we go back to Bahrain we were probably the fourth best car at the time, until we upgraded the car in Miami.
“From Miami onwards, the gap between Max and Lando has actually stayed quite consistent.
“That’s the first takeaway. We do have to give Lando and Oscar [Piastri] a car that is competitive for podiums straight away.”
Norris has developed the ‘mindset of a champion’
Once McLaren had a car capable of victories, Norris and Verstappen came to blows on several occasions and the Briton has vowed to be more aggressive in their confrontations this year.
After coming off second best in wheel-to-wheel confrontations in Austria and Austin, Stella saw a developing Norris figure out how to come out on top when Verstappen sought to run the Briton off of the road during the Mexico City GP.
This development is why Stella said “The second takeaway [from 2024] is that I’ve seen Lando grow through the season at a very fast rate.
“He was already an incredible driver and he showed it immediately in Miami, as soon as he had the car to win, he delivered,” Stella continued.
“And he’s been a very consistent driver, if we look at the number of podiums, and like I say, in terms of points scored, he scored as much as Max from Miami onwards.
“But at the same time, the rate at which he has learned from any situation which gave us the possibility to grow as a team or as a driver, that’s been quite impressive.
“Like if we take the battle on track with Max in Austria, the battle on track with Max in Austin, think how much he adapted and in Mexico immediately he kind of knew what to do with Max.
“In a similar way, when it comes to driving, to using the tyres in a race, there’s a few examples.
“For instance, Las Vegas. He changed the pace completely with the final set of tyres after we struggled so much with graining with the first two sets of tyres.
“Learning very fast and definitely having all the qualities, the skills, the mindset to become a world champion.”
Stella added that he can make “similar considerations” for Oscar Piastri, believing that McLaren is “in a lucky position to have two drivers that are in condition to succeed.
“And if anything, the pressure is on the team,” he continued.
“Going back to the first takeaway, give the drivers a car that can allow them to fight for podiums and wins right from the start,” Stella concluded.
READ MORE – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri react to first laps in McLaren 2025 F1 car
