McLaren Formula 1 boss Andrea Stella has detailed how losing the 2021 Russian Grand Prix proved to be a turning point that inspired Lando Norris’ triumph in Miami.
Norris ended his protracted wait to land an elusive F1 win on his 110th outing, capitalising on fortuitous Safety Car timing in Miami to beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The Briton had come close several terms ago at the last race held in Sochi in 2021 as he led from pole position until indecisiveness during a late rain shower cost him.
Norris went against McLaren’s call to pit when precipitation descended on the circuit, allowing Lewis Hamilton, who had gambled on Intermediates, to take the victory.
However, Stella, who was McLaren’s Racing Director at the time, stressed that the team was to blame on that occasion and he never had doubts Norris could succeed.
“Let me start by saying, we were totally convinced that the gap to the victory for Lando wasn’t in Lando, it was in the team,” Stella outlined.
“We needed to provide him with winning material. And as soon as we did it, he achieved it. So that’s for me testament to how ready he was.
“Also, when we look at what he delivered in podiums with a car that sometimes wasn’t really a podium finisher on merit, for me Lando is in a very strong journey.
“If I think back to the race in Russia, I think if anything that was a bit of turning point for Lando himself and for the team in terms of how we have to operate when the pressure rises and in terms of how we have to collaborate to make good decisions by bringing the unique information you have while you are on track and the unique information you have on the pit wall.
“But if I go back to that race, I think responsibility is on the pit wall as we didn’t enforce the call to pit enough.
“The driver on track, he doesn’t see if it is raining somewhere else. We could see it.
“It was our limitation in not enforcing Lando to pit, so even in that case he was delivering the job but we were not ready, in a way, to achieve the victory.”
Norris’ win marked the third time since the start of last season that Red Bull has not had either Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez stand on the top step of the podium.
Stella has never underestimated what Red Bull has accomplished in recent times and he hopes Norris’ breakthrough result is the start of a closer McLaren challenge.
“Achieving victories is never easy and if we look at what Red Bull have achieved… I never under-evaluate what they have achieved,” the Italian added.
“I always really take my hat off because there’s so many ways in which you can wrong.
“For them to be so successful with such a sequence of victories is just amazing.
“We are just starting with this kind of journey and hopefully we will have more of these days in the future.”
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