Stella confesses Norris wasn't ready: 'Verstappen set the bar high'

How the constructors' title compares with the world title was a tricky question for Stella. "It's one of those questions where you're asked 'Who is your favourite child?' They are all the same. I think there's this clearly like people tend to remember drivers championship more than the constructors."

But the world title has more prestige, according to the McLaren team boss. "I think in itself, potentially, the drivers' championship is the ultimate that you want to achieve. I'm already committed to have made a preference which I said I wouldn't, but allow me to do so and say that this needs to be considered though within a timeline and a chronology."

Stella next addressed the culture of the team from Woking. "If I think about the trajectory of McLaren, for where we are at the moment, the Constructor Championship is just an unbelievable quest, because obviously, it's something that we can compete for."

Verstappen and Hamilton set the bar very high

"still quite a long way to go and it's just fantastic to be in this quest, and it's interesting that when I talked multiple times with the drivers during the season, Lando himself felt that for where we are for our trajectory as a team like the constructors is more important," the Italian stated.

"This is kind of the foundation you want to confirm and build if that makes sense. I've always found interest in this feedback from the drivers. They felt like we are building something together. Let's put this milestone on the ground, and then once things are in place, we can go for the drivers' title."

But according to the McLaren team boss, the bar is now very high for a team to win a drivers' title. "But with the drivers, we have to say that recently we have had Hamilton, Verstappen, and the bar is incredibly high, and this requires the team to support the driver. Lando has not been able to stay in the quest until the last race, because we as a team have not provided him with a fast enough car at the start of the season. After we developed the Miami upgrade, pretty much he is on par with Verstappen

"In terms of points and the team culture, I said that already is a fundamental element to be able to maximise what you have available, but also to let the talent flourish and to allow the opportunity and the missed opportunities, in particular, to be reviewed, therefore to learn and grow. It's really difficult to capitalise without having a strong performance and also have culture," Stella concluded.

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy

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