Lando Norris will be delighted to hear what Andrea Stella just said about McLaren’s 2026 car

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McLaren are currently enjoying one of the most dominant Formula 1 seasons by a team during the 21st century.

In the drivers’ championship, it’s guaranteed to be a straight fight between their drivers for top honours across the final 10 races of the campaign.

Lando Norris’ patience with the Woking-based outfit has paid dividends, while Oscar Piastri’s gradual improvements have seen him turn into a machine on the track.

Now, McLaren’s main concern will be keeping them on the straight and narrow. A one-two after the summer break would see them match the record for most consecutive one-two finishes in Formula 1 history.

Piastri has done something ‘remarkable’ at McLaren by managing to get quicker with every season that he has been in the sport. He’s developing at a rapid pace.

Andrea Stella has privately commented on the title battle and isn’t giving his drivers any advice when it comes to racing each other. He wants to keep it fair.

READ MORE: Lando Norris called out for his ‘not world championship worthy’ acts in Oscar Piastri F1 title fight

Lando Norris will be delighted to hear Andrea Stella’s ‘strong’ admission about McLaren’s 2026 F1 car

Norris has proven ‘insiders in the paddock’ wrong about his talents by bouncing back from a difficult start to the season.

At one stage, it looked as though his teammate had all the momentum and was going to be competing against Max Verstappen for top honours.

McLaren are desperate to end the ‘nonsense’ and want their fight between their two drivers to be resolved as quickly as possible.

That will allow them to focus on the 2026 F1 regulations, which team boss Stella holds high hopes for, after a chat with the Italian edition of Motorsport.com.

“But some aspects of the methodology, or the way this knowledge is generated, I think will be transferable,” he said.

“So, among the fundamental reasons why we’re in this strong position now, I think there’s a large amount that’s transferable, and there’s a certain amount that will somehow be lost. And this will be a levelling ground for all teams, potentially, regardless of their position in 2025.”

READ MORE: Andrea Stella admits he’s been ‘surprised’ by one thing McLaren have done in the 2025 F1 season

Why Lando Norris has one significant advantage over Oscar Piastri at McLaren

Although Piastri leads Norris by nine points in the standings, that lead could be eradicated within just one event.

Norris has an ‘undervalued’ trait, which should pay dividends for him later in the season. He’s always able to stay in contention late into races.

However, the biggest advantage he has is experience. The Briton has four full seasons more under his belt than Piastri.

And it has all been at the same team, meaning that there’s less room for confusion when the title battle intensifies. He should know every area of his team’s operation inside out.