McLaren boss Andrea Stella has envisaged that Lando Norris‘ retirement in Formula 1′s Dutch Grand Prix will inspire him to deliver “an even better version” of himself.
Norris suffered a considerable blow to his championship aspirations at Zandvoort as a mechanical problem with eight laps to go marked a premature end to his race.
With Oscar Piastri proceeding to take the win, the 25-point swing has now slipped Norris 34 points behind his team-mate in the standings with nine rounds remaining.
But while he has admitted that he has an uphill task to overturn the gap, the Briton has contended that he can now approach the upcoming races with nothing to lose.
However, Stella has insisted that he is not concerned that such a mindset might provoke Norris to take risks against Piastri that compromise the team’s overall result.
“Well, we talk about Lando, he’s one of the most fair, balanced, in a way I would almost say trustworthy individual, before being so as a driver,” Stella addressed to media including Motorsport Week.
“So, when he says he’s going to be full commitment or whatever he said, it just means that if anything he will try to extract out of himself even more from his incredible potential.
“I look forward to seeing what Lando will be conditioned to express because we know that his talent is immense, and I’m sure this situation in the championship will give him extra motivation to try and extract it.
“When it comes to the team, what’s important is that the team keeps racing in the same way we have gone racing so far, so staying as neutral as possible, facilitating the pursuit of their own aspirations for Lando and Oscar in a balanced way, in a fair way, in a sportsman-like way and that’s what we will continue to do.
“I don’t think there’s any change in the approach of the team that is triggered based on the fact that we have this situation inside.”
Stella also commended Norris’ “mature” response to his demoralising setback and, with the odds firmly stacked against him, has backed him to scale greater heights.
Asked whether it would be hard to convince Norris that things are equal, Stella responded: “Well, I think Lando has already proven in the message that he gave from the radio while he was still in the car, he has already proven that he is processing the situation and he kept immediately his constructive mindset.
“He said that’s just out of our control, it’s just a bad luck incident. Nothing we could do, we will keep fighting.
“So he has already said himself and I wouldn’t be surprised otherwise. He is a very mature person, like I said before, a very fair and a very balanced driver.
“We will give, if anything, maximum support to make sure that he is staying in the fighting spirit.
“But, like we said before, I think this will come very naturally and, if anything, we may see even a better version of Lando because now is the time to extract, if there is anything more, even more out of his potential. So I look forward to seeing Lando in the coming races.
“I’m sure this is going to be a great spectacle for Formula 1 and, if anything, it’s going to make the competition with Oscar even more interesting.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris can be more ‘chill’ about F1 title race after unexpected Dutch GP retirement
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