Norris lost title because McLaren weren’t competitive enough early on

Lando Norris’s championship chances never recovered from the setback they suffered early in the season when McLaren’s car was less competitive, says team principal Andrea Stella.

Max Verstappen clinched the title in Las Vegas last weekend with two rounds to spare, having built up a 63-point lead over Norris, his closest championship rival.

Norris lost 53 points to Verstappen over the first six rounds alone. McLaren introduced a significant upgrade for the MCL38 at that round in Miami, where Norris claimed the first victory of his career. Despite closing to within 44 points of Verstappen at one stage, he was unable to prevent his rival taking the championship.

Stella praised Verstappen, saying he deserves a place among F1’s greatest champions. “He’s a fantastic driver, one of the best in the history of Formula 1,” the McLaren boss told Viaplay.

“He’s been so consistent this season, even when the car wasn’t the best car. A very deserved champion in 2024 in Max Verstappen. Congratulations to him and congratulations to Red Bull who supported Max in this quest.”

But Stella believes both his drivers have the potential to win the championship in the future, if their car is competitive enough across the whole season.

“We are proud that we tried to contend the championship with Lando. We tried until we could. We lost too many points at the start of the season because the car wasn’t competitive enough.”

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Norris has scored points in every grand prix this year apart from at the Red Bull Ring, where he was classified 20th after stopping in the pits with damage following a collision with Verstappen. His next-lowest finish, eighth place, came at the second round in Jeddah.

“After we got in with competitive material from a car point of view, actually, we stayed on a similar trajectory as Max, confirming that we have the material that can compete for the drivers’ world championship in the car,” Stella continued.

“Above all, we have a driver that can compete for the drivers’ world championship in Lando, and certainly in the future in Oscar [Piastri].”