Team principal Stella on Norris’ character: ‘This is what champions do’

Andrea Stella was asked about the way Lando Norris’ fiery response on the team radio during the first laps of the Dutch Grand Prix, but the team principal quickly defended his driver. "He was obviously frustrated. He was frustrated because he realised that we were missing an opportunity by staying out one lap too much. And this is because the people misread the situation, so Lando was addressing it. This is what champions do, we like this character."

"We want to be heavily challenged by the driver, and we can be heavily challenged because our culture is strong, we can bear with that. We'd rather have this kind of challenge rather than a passive driver that just takes everything and it doesn't contribute to the development of the team. So for us, this this episode is not a problem at all," Stella continued.

The Italian team principal also said Norris might change his tone in the future, but the team are there to support him. "For the team, the matter is closed and overall for the team, we have grown. So we have no problem at all with that. In terms of how Lando perceives himself, I'm sure he will make some adaptations to his tone and pitch and so. So potentially in some time we will hear Lando speaking in a slightly different way, such that he comes across in a way that is more close to what he expects of himself. But for us, we are happy and we just have to make sure we support him as well as he deserves."

Horner also praises Norris

Christian Horner also rates Norris highly, but he did not want to say anything about whether the British driver can be signed by the Austrian racing stable in the future. "Lando is a great driver, there's no doubt about that, and you can see his potential is growing, but he's a McLaren driver. You have to respect the agreements, that are in place but, you know, he's one of a few drivers at the moment that, you know, he's doing a great job in the sport. And of course, we have our drivers confirmed for 2024, and for 2025, we have one seat open, and as you can imagine, there's not a shortage of interest in that seat, but it's a long way away at the moment."