McLaren chief admits Lando Norris is ‘not comfortable’ at Formula 1 team

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McLaren team principal Andrea Stella admits Lando Norris is ‘not comfortable’. But he prefers it be that way than if the Formula 1 driver was happy he is still yet to win a race.

Stella is adamant that McLaren must accept that they are yet to hand Norris a car capable of winning Grand Prix. From there, the Woking squad can work on their goals together and not brush any failures under the carpet. An uncomfortable situation can also play in their favour.

Norris currently shares the record for claiming the most podium finishes without winning an F1 Grand Prix with Nick Heidfeld. The 24-year-old matched the German’s unwanted honour with second place at the 2023 Sao Paulo GP. It marked the Briton’s 13th career podium yet.

Lando Norris has had three true chances to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix

The Sao Paulo GP this November further marked Norris’ sixth runners-up finish and seventh podium in 2023 alone. He had previously only finished the Italian GP in 2021 in second place as Daniel Ricciardo won McLaren’s only race since the 2012 Brazilian GP with Jenson Button.

Norris sacrificed his chance to win the Italian GP in 2021 after offering himself as a guardian for Ricciardo. He crossed the finish line 1.7 seconds behind his at-the-time teammate to see that Valtteri Bottas could not charge through with Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton’s penalty.

But the 2021 Italian GP remains one of only three real chances that Norris has had to win a Formula 1 race. He also took pole position for the 2021 Russian GP two weeks later. But the team’s decision to let Norris decide if he wanted to pit as rain fell cost them as he spun off.

McLaren boss Andre Stella is happy if Lando Norris is ‘not comfortable’

Norris would not enjoy another true chance at a Grand Prix win until the 2023 Singapore GP in September. McLaren had threatened to challenge Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the 2023 British GP and would again at the Sao Paulo GP. But Singapore posed a great chance to win.

Yet Carlos Sainz had Norris’ number to win the Singapore GP for Ferrari. He kept his former McLaren teammate within DRS to stop Mercedes’ George Russell from fighting for the win. But Stella does not believe Norris’ wait for a Grand Prix win is affecting the McLaren driver.

“There’s a diplomatic political answer which is, ‘No’, I don’t think it’s affecting him,” Stella has now told the F1 website. “But I’d rather stay away from it and say, ‘These drivers want to win races’. I’d rather accept the fact we haven’t put Lando in the conditions to do it yet.

“This is not a comfortable place. We can try and cope. But it’s not comfortable for Lando and it’s not comfortable for us. I’d rather start from accepting this and work the best way to making this possible, rather than almost pretend that it doesn’t make any difference.

“We are here to win races. I don’t want a driver who doesn’t have this strong drive. If this makes him uncomfortable and makes us uncomfortable, we accept it. It’s going to be extra determination to create the conditions to win races.”