Lando Norris says he wouldn’t anyone else but Andrea Stella at the helm of McLaren to manage and push the team, or to deal with the often delicate issue of team orders.
As McLaren continues to challenge for both the drivers' and constructors' championships, the team has increasingly found itself in situations where strategic decisions need to be made to maximize its chances of success.
The introduction of team orders, with Oscar Piastri recently instructed to support Norris when necessary, has been a significant development in this regard.
Speaking during last month’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, Norris shared his thoughts on how Stella manages the tricky conversations around team orders, praising his leadership.
“Very, very good, and I probably wouldn’t ask for anyone else to have his job and make these kinds of decisions,” commented the McLaren charger.
“From all the people that I’ve known and worked with, I think Andrea is one of the most integral parts of keeping a team together, motivating the team, pushing the team, making the team what it is today, which is close to being the best team in Formula 1 at the minute.”
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Norris and Stella's working relationship is built on mutual respect and open communication.
“I have a lot of confidence in him and we just work well,” he added.
“There’s always good points, constructive points, criticism points, but that all just makes us work better as a team. I think the most important thing that we have is just honesty between one another.'
Norris emphasized how the open dialogue allows to work through any differences of opinion, ensuring that decisions are made in the team’s best interest.
"When I agree or disagree, when he agrees or disagrees, we say it to one another and we come up with the best solution,” he said.
“I’m very happy with how he works, how he wants to understand things. He’s a smart guy but he’s also a racer.
“He knows how you go racing and he’s worked with a lot of incredible drivers in the past, so he knows the mentality of drivers as well and how every driver just wants to go out and win and not listen to what people say, but also know you have to at the same time. I couldn’t ask for a better boss.”
When asked whether team orders should have been introduced earlier in the season, Norris downplayed the idea, expressing satisfaction with how the team has handled things so far.
He also believed that it would have been impractical to enforce such measures from the beginning
"I’ve not lost out on any points," he stated. "It’s like saying from Round 1 Oscar needs to let me past in every race, it doesn’t make sense.”
Norris, who trails Max Verstappen by 52 points in the Drivers’ standings with six races to go, recognizes that the championship battle is not just about him.
Other drivers, including his teammate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, are still fighting for their own positions.
“I’ve been the closest for a long time, but other drivers can still win the championship, not just me,” he said.
“We’re still fighting for ourselves – Oscar is fighting for himself, Charles [Leclerc] is fighting for himself. There isn’t a number.
“You cannot say exactly this race rules need to change. It doesn’t make sense. I’m very happy with how we’ve worked as a team and the direction we’re going.”
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