McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has expressed his unwavering belief in Lando Norris' potential to become a future world champion, hailing the young British driver as one of the finest talents in Formula 1.
Norris's recent contract extension with McLaren further underscores the team's belief in his potential.
The British driver has committed his long-term future to team papaya, indicating his strong alignment with their vision and his conviction that McLaren is the best place to achieve his championship aspirations.
Stella compared Norris to some of the sport's greatest legends, including Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, and Michael Schumacher, emphasizing how the 24-year-old is emboldened with the some of the same qualities that propelled these drivers to the pinnacle of the sport.
Norris has yet to add a Grand Prix win to his name but Stella has witnessed over the years the young gun’s remarkable growth and development.
"Lando definitely stands together with them," he said, referencing the legends mentioned above.
"It is the same category, the same kind of world championship material, the underlying talent, the mindset, the work ethos. It's all ready to go.
"But at the same time, when you think about champions, there is a characteristic of champion in that they only get better. Real champions, they seem to just improve year by year.
"And I think that's the case because they use the intelligence, the ethos, and they get the best people around them.
“They do whatever it takes to get better and better because the sport gets only more and more competitive."
Beyond Norris’ outstanding talent, the Italian has always been impressed by his ability to adapt, learn, and push himself to new heights.
"Definitely we have all the raw material, which we saw already when Lando was doing the free practice one [sessions] with us," he said. "It was very evident in 2018.
"And then it kept growing. It's there, we just need to keep growing year after year like every champion does. But we are extremely happy and committed to Lando, in this respect."
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