McLaren boss Andrea Stella has revealed that the team has understood how it can help Lando Norris to be more at ease with its 2025 Formula 1 car over a single lap.
Norris was made to settle for second place on the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen pipped the McLaren duo with a sensational last run.
McLaren had seemed an assured bet as either Norris or team-mate Oscar Piastri had headed the times across all three practice sessions, along with both Q1 and Q2.
But while Piastri held provisional pole once the opening laps in Q3 had been recorded, Norris languished close to five tenths down on the sister McLaren in fifth place.
Norris admitted he had explored the limits too much on that lap as a more cautious approach next time around ensured that he beat Piastri to a spot on the front row.
Stella believes errors were not exclusive to Norris, highlighting how the change in wind direction overnight to a headwind posed an added complication for the drivers.
“I think in terms of putting the first lap together, I don’t think this was specific to Lando,” Stella told media including Motorsport Week.
“I think it was more general, especially I think both the first day and then the second day with the change of wind direction, the drivers needed to understand where the grip was.
“For instance, today, the first session in the FP3, the drivers needed to learn again where the grip was because the wind was opposite to yesterday, so I don’t think there’s a specific issue for Lando from this point of view.”
McLaren has pinpointed core issue
But having admitted the car isn’t compatible with his aggressive driving style, Norris has been prone to mistakes when pushing to unlock the final hundredths in 2025.
Stella has disclosed that McLaren has recognised the core problem and is working on changes to make the MCL39’s potential more accessible to Norris in qualifying.
“If anything, we know that with Lando, there’s one aspect of the car that we need to improve to give him a little bit more of a natural flow when having to deliver the first lap, I would say,” he said.
“I think this has been now very well identified and we plan to do some further work in the coming races to see if we can get the car to more naturally do what he expects and thinks that should be possible from the car.”
What is behind recurring Norris struggle?
Stella suggested that there has been an antithetical relationship between what Norris is demanding the car to do and the most conducive manner to drive the MCL39.
“I think it’s to do with the driver’s input to the car and the response of the car to this input, which, at the moment, I think it’s a little too sensitive,” he explained.
The Italian acknowledged that Piastri has been “more comfortable” with McLaren’s 2025 machine, though he claimed there are also improvements that could aid him.
“I think Oscar is, in relation to the specific area of the car, seems to be more comfortable,” he assessed.
“Like Lando, he has some other aspects in which he needs to get slightly more comfortable.”
“I have to say that the two drivers, if anything, at the moment, when really trying to nail the car at the limit, have slightly different requirements in terms of what they expect naturally from the car and what they get back from the behaviour of the car.
“From both sides of the garage, we have some opportunities to work on.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris: McLaren didn’t have enough to beat Max Verstappen to Japan pole
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