At the Japanese GP, Lando Norris grabbed his fourth podium of the season after finishing 19 seconds behind race leader Max Verstappen. However, despite the gap between him and Verstappen being that big, he still thinks that the Red Bull driver could have been faster. Moreover, McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, also agrees with that, as per the Dutch GP Blog.
The McLaren duo of Norris and Oscar Piastri were incredibly fast this weekend. So much so that they had no match in the grid except for the mighty Red Bull of Verstappen, as they took P2 and P3 comfortably.
Constructors Champions of the world!!! 🏆
What an unbelievable season we’re having 🙌 I couldn’t be more proud to be part of this @redbullracing 🙌 Everyone working on the track and back in the factory, thank you so much. What a rocket ship 🚀
It’s amazing to achieve this… pic.twitter.com/c1MHnjukCr
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) September 24, 2023
After a not-so-usual outing in Singapore, the two-time world champion was back with his dominance in his RB-19. Therefore, it was shocking to see that despite having an incredible pace on the race day, McLaren still finished 19 seconds behind.
Lando Norris and Stella believe Max Verstappen could have been faster
Following the conclusion of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, Norris stated that they are coming for Red Bull. However, Stella, as per Dutch GP Blog, quashed the statement and said that Red Bull are way ahead in terms of development.
This is all because of how the Dutchman pulled off a distance of 19 seconds in just 53 laps with equal pit stops. Admittedly, Verstappen was also over 36 seconds faster than Piastri, who finished in P3.
Best episode of the max verstappen podcast pic.twitter.com/6lFKZCTMJ1
— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) September 24, 2023
Despite the staggering time difference, both Lando Norris and Andrea Stella agreed that the defending champion could have been faster if he had pushed to the limit. After the race, Norris said, “I expected a bigger gap and I think the team did too.”
Agreeing with his driver’s remarks, Stella said, “I think he could have gone faster and made the gap even bigger than nineteen seconds. At the same time, Lando lost some time under the virtual safety car, but we remain realistic about how much work we still have to do.”
Furthermore, the 25-year-old also wanted to create a gap of over 20 seconds, but he missed by just a few seconds.
Despite McLaren’s improvement, Stella believes in Red Bull’s supremacy
The McLaren boss believes that despite the superior pace shown by Red Bull, they can still develop further and remain too dominant for the seasons to come.
Nevertheless, his team has made a remarkable comeback this season after starting in a dismal state. From having no points in back-to-back races to finishing the race with a double podium, they have come a long way.
This will surely give them hope to develop further and fight for the championship next season. If not, they will surely be with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren fighting for P2.
