McLaren offer Norris boost in F1 title hunt

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has insisted that the outfit's "mission" to win the drivers' championship with Lando Norris is "still on". 

Norris reduced Max Verstappen's lead in the standings to 52 points after winning the Singapore Grand Prix by just over 21 seconds. 

Verstappen finished in second ahead of Oscar Piastri, who completed a double McLaren podium to extend the Woking-based team's lead in the constructors' championship to 41 points. 

Stella was delighted with Piastri's recovery from fifth on the grid to finish ahead of both Mercedes drivers, whilst he is hopeful that Norris can win more of the coming races by lengthy margins. 

"Hopefully we'll have a few more in the next coming six races," Stella told Sky Sports F1. "Fully deserved by Lando, in fairness, he has been very quick throughout the weekend. 

"I think yesterday, he was very cautious in his Q3 lap, we thought that by pushing 100% we could have gone even faster. So just everything came together this weekend. 

"It's not going to be that easy in the next few races, but it's very promising, and it's also promising that Oscar found a way to beat the two Mercedes today and got back on the podium.

 "Many points for the championship, and definitely the drivers' championship that is still on. The mission is on."

Norris scare

Norris did offer Stella and McLaren CEO Zak Brown a scare, as he made minor contact with a wall mid-race. 

It did result in small damage to the British driver's front wing, although not enough to disrupt his pace.  

After the scare, Norris managed his pace and his advantage over Verstappen to perfection for the remainder of the race. 

"We said with Zak that maybe he wanted to check whether we were awake on the pit wall or something," Stella joked. 

"Lando, we don't need to do that, we were fully wide awake. I think this kind of tracks are very tricky. 

"They prove how much you have to be fully concentrated, in control of your tyres, because a lock-up can happen at any stage. 

"Luckily, there was no consequences, just a little bit of a thrill, and then we could get back in the rhythm."