Stella responds to Norris and reassures him: “He has the makings of a world champion”

Lando Norris Would he have been too harsh on himself? Thursday, ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, the Briton gave harsh self-criticism of his first part of the season, believing that he had “not reached the level of a world champion” despite a first victory in Miami and a 2nd place in the championship at mid-season. Statements which did not fail to provoke a reaction, first and foremost his boss, Andrea Stella. The main manager of the stable McLaren brushed aside his driver's doubts about his level of play at the start of the season by giving a very laudatory speech.

“In reality, I think he has the potential of a world champion and he behaves like a world champion”, declared the Italian leader at a press conference on Friday. Andrea Stella knows what he's talking about, having already worked at Ferrari with great pilots like Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso or even Kimi Räikkönen. “Lando Norris definitely has the makings of a world championhe says. He has already reached performance levels that we have seen in the past from some of the great champions I have had the chance to work with. He can win world championships, you can write it down in capital letters! »

McLaren must also accept its mistakes, according to Stella

Still according to Andrea Stella, Lando Norris must not take full responsibility for the mistakes made during the season which deprived him of other successes. The examples of Montreal and Silverstone, where the Briton missed victory due to bad strategic choices, are the first that come to mind: in these two cases, the Italian leader believes that the team also has a share of responsibility and that she must blame herself for having lost the victory.

“If the team had operated to a higher standard, Lando Norris would have more championship points, judges the McLaren Team Principal. As a team, we appreciate him putting pressure on himself or raising his hand to say it's his fault, but I think I have enough experience to say: 'Mate, don't worry, it's the team's fault, keep doing a good job, keep working to improve your own opportunities' »

Hoping that the comfort brought by Andrea Stella to Lando Norris will allow him to release a little pressure and fight against Max Verstappen by being more relaxed, while he must make up a 78-point deficit on the Dutchman. For the sake of the championship and the suspense.

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