McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella says that Lando Norris’ chase from behind in Sunday’s Mexican Grand Prix was “one of the best races that I’ve been part of”.
Norris’ remarkable drive at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was a two-part affair due to the event being split up in two halves following a red flag triggered by Haas’ Kevon Magnussen.
From P17 on the grid, Norris was able to carry himself into the top-ten by lap 34 when the race was suspended.
But a lack of tyre preparation on the restart dropped the McLaren charger back down to 14th from where he began his second comeback effort of the day.
As a man on a mission, there was no stopping the Briton who dispatched his rivals with persistence and determination in a variety of bold and thrilling moves that endeared him to the crowd as he powered his way to P5 at the checkered flag.
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“Overtaking, so many overtakings, in Mexico, where yesterday if you read the quotes, everyone is saying it’s so difficult to overtake, while managing PU temperatures, having to do lift and coast,” said Stella.
“I’m just impressed. One of the best races for a driver that I’ve been part of, let’s say.”
As he watched his driver carve his way through thick and thin, Stella’s memory cast back to a memorable day in Valencia with Ferrari and Fernando Alonso in 2012.
“Yeah, this race made me think of Valencia 2012, where at the time we started 12th, we won the race,” Stella said.
🗣️ "We have shown resilience, the strength in depth we have at McLaren."
Andrea speaks on a manic #MexicoGP! 🧡 pic.twitter.com/OTifb9MTe4
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 30, 2023
But the Italian admitted that there was an “element of frustration” aside from his overall satisfaction as Norris’ level of performance in the race was worthy of a podium had he not botched his qualifying session the day before.
“This one… you know, on one side we are excited, having seen this kind of masterpiece,” Stella explained.
“On the other side, like Lando said on the in-lap, like, guys let’s do a good job on Saturday and we can fight for podiums, so you know the pace was there to fight for podiums.”
While focused on the positives, Stella’s observation was a reminder that McLaren stills needs to reach a level of flawless execution from start to finish.
“That’s what I’m trying to say, there’s a little element of frustration, but at the same time if you asked me yesterday I would not have thought we could overtake so many cars,” he said.
“So I’d rather take the positives out of this race and I hope that the entire team at the factory and the fans receive the same sort of message: we are there, we don’t give up, we are competitive, but we need to do a better job overall the whole race weekend.”
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