Stella adament Norris has become "more capable" after 2024 season
F1 News
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes that Lando Norris has become a "more capable" driver thanks to his 2024 title battle with Max Verstappen. The British driver fell short of the championship, with the Dutchman sealing his fourth consecutive drivers' title after finishing ahead of the McLaren driver at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Norris had many chances to make this year's title battle far closer than what it turned out to be, with many missed opportunities coming the way of the 24-year-old throughout the season. The biggest mistake made by the Brit was at the Brazilian Grand Prix, as he could not convert his pole position into a race win, only finishing in P6. Conversely, Verstappen, who started down in P17, came through expertly to take the victory and deal a seismic blow to Norris' title hopes.
Ultimately, Norris' inability to turn pole position into wins meant his chances to win the title diminished. Despite having a much more consistent and faster car than Verstappen throughout the season, he was unable to deal any significant blows of his own towards Verstappen. The Brit took seven poles in 2024, but he was only able to convert two of those into race wins. But despite that, Stella is adamant that his driver has improved throughout the year.
Norris has "developed" more than ever says Stella
After the Grand Prix in the Nevada desert, Stella spoke to several media outlets, including GPblog, and he spoke glowingly about the personal progress made by Norris throughout the year: "You mentioned important concepts for Formula One drivers, for any professional athletes, you need to work on the self-awareness. What am I good at? What am I not good at? What I should consolidate, what I should develop, and what do I really need to learn? With Lando, this year more than any other year, we have developed from this point of view, the self-consciousness.
"Even thanks to the support of the engineers and the people supporting Lando because like in any sport when you operate at the pinnacle, you have an entourage around you, you have a team around you to take care of all the aspects that are important to perform at the top. I think Lando became not only more aware, but more capable of using his skills or developing new skills," concluded the Italian team principal.
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