McLaren refutes Norris' 'last millisecond' claim

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella does not see eye-to-eye with Lando Norris on the driver's claim that it is easier to fight for those "extra thousandths" of a second, now that the team is right at the front.

The Italian has not observed that difference in the 24-year-old following McLaren successfully introducing a fleet of upgrades at the Miami Grand Prix - which Norris won.

If anything, Stella feels his driver has gone the other way, adopting a more measure approach, having sometimes been guilty of "pushing too hard" in the past.

The British driver had original said that whilst his approach had not changed to F1, with McLaren's recent step forward in performance there was more "excitement" and "motivation" to find the extra margin when fighting for wins and podiums.

"No, I would say I don't notice that his commitment to going for the last millisecond has changed at all," The 53-year-old told media including RacingNews365 when Norris' comments were raised with him.

"If anything, actually, I would observe this has changed in the opposite direction. Like last year, if anything, in some of the qualifying sessions, we were kind of pushing too hard when there wasn't necessarily the need to do so. 

"I'm thinking of Mexico, for instance, in Q1, where we lost the lap when we could have gone through Q1 with just driving around on a new set of softs. So I do not necessarily see this kind of difference."

Norris setting the tone at McLaren

Since the Woking-based team delivered its updated package in Florida, Norris has enjoyed an impressive run of form - as has Oscar Piastri.

Following the weekend in the United States, Norris ran Max Verstappen close for victory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola. 

He was not able to secure a podium finish in Monaco, where his team-mate finished in second position, but would return to the rostrum in Montreal, finishing the Canadian Grand Prix in second place, again behind the Red Bull of Verstappen.

After nine rounds of the 2024 season, the British driver has 131 points, just seven shy of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the runner-up spot.

Therefore, Stella was keen to pivot to the excellent work and qualities he sees from Norris, highlighting how his "ethos" has set the tone at McLaren.

"I do see Lando being very concentrated, very focused, somehow recalling what I said before about reviewing every event, taking all the opportunities to keep developing," the team principal said. "So that's a great ethos that Lando shows, which is an example for all the team."