Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Lando Norris’ 2025 title feat had been brewing since his battle with Max Verstappen in the season prior, and Andrea Stella has shared the crucial ‘turning point’ in which the British driver knew that beating the Red Bull star was a possibility.
Despite Max Verstappen’s picking up from where he left off at the start of the 2024 F1 season, it became clear that Lando Norris had half a chance of spoiling the party for the Dutchman’s fourth consecutive world championship.
However, mistakes ended up getting the better of Norris during the duel, and Verstappen reigned supreme for another season of F1’s ground-effect era.
There were a lot of positives to take from the contest for Norris, though.
His first taste of the pressure that comes along with a title fight would have certainly had an impact on his success in 2025, which has been backed up by his boss at McLaren.
What was your favourite moment from Lando Norris’ 2025 F1 title-winning season?
Andrea Stella pinpoints the moment in Lando Norris’ F1 career that he knew Max Verstappen could be beaten
In an interview with Motorsport Italy, Andrea Stella was asked to explain how difficult it was to get both Norris and Oscar Piastri to embrace McLaren’s philosophy of playing the team game.
The Italian team principal highlighted how much his driving pairing has matured in recent years, mainly in the case of the 2025 title-winner, Norris.
He said, “The level in Formula 1 is incredibly high. This generation grows up with telemetry already in karts. Lando beat a four-time world champion: he’s grown enormously, as a person and as a driver.
“You only learn to win by winning. The constant battles with your teammate and with a bulldog like Max Verstappen either make you grow quickly or crush you.
“Lando’s real turning point came last year, with crucial duels like the one in Austria. There, he truly began to believe he could battle Verstappen and beat him.
“He also learned to isolate himself from the outside noise. We made technical changes specifically to help him focus on driving.”
Norris and Verstappen came to blows during the 2024 Austrian GP, and it marked the first time that we saw the two drivers take part in wheel-to-wheel combat during a Grand Prix.
Both drivers ended up falling down the order after sustaining damage, with Verstappen recovering to fifth place whilst Norris was forced into a premature retirement from the race.
Where do you think Lando Norris will rank among McLaren’s greatest drivers when he retires?
Andrea Stella also detailed how satisfying it was to have two drivers in contention for an F1 title
Another of the questions that Stella fielded during his interview with the Italian publication referenced the fact that McLaren had two drivers in contention for the title, which has been a rarity in recent years.
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s toxic feud that swamped the Mercedes garages in 2016 was the last time we had an intra-team title fight, but the one between Norris and Piastri had a much different feel to it.
Asked how satisfying it was to have two drivers up there in 2025, Stella said, “Success is the fruit of a very long journey.
“Twenty-four races turn the championship into a marathon: remaining consistent, united, and true to our values was both challenging and essential. We wanted to send a message.
“Winning 16 world titles means a lot, but we wanted to demonstrate that certain values still matter: that you can build a culture based on progress, not regret.
“We worked as a team, and as a team, we won: the riders, the engineers, the track staff, and the incredible technical department in England.”
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
