McLaren chief Andrea Stella believes Lando Norris is primed to win his first Grand Prix in 2024 in a major warning to Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen and Hamilton may face stronger competition for triumphs in this season’s world championship if Norris can find more consistency.
Norris battled hard to overcome a difficult start in 2023, finishing a respectable sixth in the drivers’ standings. However, the Briton still struggled to find consistent form and several errors meant he was unable to properly challenge the likes of Verstappen, Hamilton and Sergio Perez.
McLaren team principal Stella believes it will be a ‘beautiful moment’ when Norris wins his first race. But he points out that the team must give him the platform to add more consistency to his races – only then will he compete with world champion Verstappen and a resurgent Mercedes star Hamilton.
“I think the first victory is always somehow the most important, no?” Stella replied when asked if Norris will be more ‘relaxed’ after his first victory. “Because it comes with some confidence. I think some other things come slightly easier.
But, at the moment, I would say the main reason why this has not been possible is because we have not put Lando in conditions to consistently compete for the victory.
“So, when Lando wins his first race, [it] will be a beautiful moment. He is ready for that. It’s more about us being ready [and] delivering the car that allows him to take the opportunities.”
Errors sometimes cost Norris the opportunity to fight for Grand Prix victories. However, Stella does not believe that there is a reason for the 23-year-old’s mistakes. The Italian believes Norris simply needs to continue performing more consistently.
“I don’t think there is a single element that one should identify on the track. I think that when you deal with champions, when you deal with delivering at such a high level in professional sport, you need to look at opportunities very holistically,” Stella added.
“And I think that things are also quite connected – like the physical state is connected with the mental state, which is connected with the well-being overall and the integration within the team. All these battles are very strong on Lando’s side.
