Norris hails Stella: 'Couldn't ask for a better Team Principal'

Lando Norris has commended the impact that Andrea Stella has had on McLaren after the Italian took over the Team Principal role this year.

Stella replaced Andreas Seidl who took up a new position as the CEO of the Sauber Group at the end of last season.

Stella has been a long-time member of the McLaren squad after joining in 2015 from Ferrari, working in roles such as Performance Director and Racing Director.

McLaren commenced this past campaign competing at the back of the field as it missed performance targets with the MCL60 car.

However, successful development throughout the campaign saw it rise up the pecking order and finish the year with nine podiums and fourth in the Constructors' Championship.

While Norris highlighted that everyone in the team deserves recognition, the Briton hailed Stella for his impact on the Woking-based squad.

“I did an interview the other day, and I just said a big thanks to him,” Norris told media including RacingNews365.com.

“Everything isn’t just on him. You’ve got to thank a lot of other people in the team because they're the ones who have done a lot of the work.

Andrea is just the director of it all. He’s the producer of the set, and everyone else is the cast.

“But you need everyone to work together very well and that’s what they're doing.

“So he's done an amazing job. I'm very, very happy with having him where he is.

“He still does a lot for the team every single weekend in terms of racing and qualifying and all of that.

“But I couldn't ask for a better team principal. So a big thanks to him.”