Following the Spanish Grand Prix, Lando Norris expressed harsh criticism of himself, a sentiment McLaren CEO Andrea Stella does not share.
McLaren manager Andrea Stella delivered a forceful defense of Lando Norris in response to his own self-criticism. Max Verstappen and George Russell, who started quickly from fourth and third place, respectively, moved Norris down to third at Turn 1 from pole position in Barcelona. Both drivers used the strong slipstream on the 594-meter run to Turn 1 to pass the McLaren. Even though Norris finished second in the race, only two seconds behind Verstappen, he insisted afterward that he “should” have won his second grand prix.
But according to Stella, his team principal, Norris was only able to do so much better than he did on the run to Turn 1. Stella told reporters, including RacingNews365, “The fact that Lando is self-critical is a style – and sometimes we react very much on the style rather than on the content of things.” “It was a decent start, just like Max’s, so it wasn’t too bad at all, but Russell ended up getting in Lando and Max’s double slipstream. Lando made a very smart decision at Turn 1 because we want to stay in the race and not let our opponents take us out in an instant.
From an advantage perspective, it is more of a detail that you could have started stronger and been one meter ahead, but it is quite close. “Lando was quite hard on himself for accepting responsibility for it; other drivers could have grumbled about the Barcelona straight’s length. It’s a style thing. “I like people who look at their own opportunities before thinking that the world plays against you and that you work on the variables that you can control.”
Norris’s methodology Stella continued by saying it was encouraging that Norris had a disappointed mindset after catching Verstappen from nine seconds behind on his last pit stop with 18 circuits remaining to just 2.2 seconds back at the checkered flag. “We don’t over-react to the style of Lando being tough with himself, and it is something we will continue to fine-tune over the years, but from Lando’s point of view, he did a good job across the weekend,” Stella said.
If he is disappointed to finish two seconds behind Max, then this is great news for all parties involved, including Formula 1, as it indicates that races will take place. By paying attention to the small elements, such positioning yourself, we can eventually have a variety of winners.”