In the lead-up to the race, the British driver expressed doubts about his ability to match Verstappen’s pace, suggesting he may need to alter his approach to be competitive.
Following a thrilling performance at the Mexico City GP, McLaren’s team principal Andrea Stella has affirmed that Lando Norris should maintain his current driving style as he continues to compete against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the Formula One title.
This statement comes after Norris finished second in Sunday’s race, while Verstappen faced setbacks, finishing sixth after being penalised for track incidents involving the McLaren driver.
In the lead-up to the race, the British driver expressed doubts about his ability to match Verstappen’s pace, suggesting he may need to alter his approach to be competitive. However, Stella’s emphatic support seeks to reassure the young racer, who is often his own harshest critic.
“Our conversation and our internal reviews have always been very clear,” Stella said, emphasising that the team is satisfied with Norris’s racing methods.
“Lando – we like, we approve, we confirm the way you go racing. It’s not for you to go there and try to find justice yourself. You go racing in a fair, sportive way like you do,” Stella added.
This underscores McLaren’s desire for Norris to focus on his performance without the added pressure of trying to ‘prove’ anything amidst fierce competition.
As the F1 season approaches its conclusion, Norris finds himself 47 points adrift of Verstappen, with the latter still favoured to clinch a fourth consecutive championship title. Despite this, Stella highlighted the competitive spirit McLaren displayed during the race, noting that without early incidents, Norris could have potentially contended for victory.
“When I look at the incidents in the early laps of the race, there’s a little bit of disappointment,” he reflected.
Stella has expressed optimism about McLaren’s performance, particularly in light of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz taking the win and Charles Leclerc finishing third, bringing Ferrari close within 29 points of McLaren in the constructors’ championship standings.
“The important fact is that we have seen that the car is competitive, the upgraded car seems to be now on par with Ferrari at a track that we thought would be more in favour of Ferrari,”
Stella concluded, providing hope for the remaining races in this high-stakes season.
Reuters
