McLaren started the 2023 season poorly, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri struggling in the opening few rounds. However, their progress over the last few months has been evidently strong. Since the Austrian GP, they have become one of the front-running teams behind Red Bull, and have jumped Aston Martin completely in the pecking order. Despite this promising progress, McLaren boss Andrea Stella does not want to make any false promises to his star driver Norris regarding the future.
The last time McLaren won a championship was in 2008 when Lewis Hamilton won the title. Since then, they have been in a decline but with Zak Brown in charge and Norris behind the wheel of the car, they are looking to taste success once again. After finishing on the podium in Silverstone and Hungary, fans of the papaya outfit were filled with excitement once again. This is because the team is finally showing signs of making its way back to the front again.
Nevertheless, Stella does not want to make anyone very hopeful. He is sure about the team getting more positive results with more upgrades set to come in. Still, he won’t be making empty promises to Norris, who is contracted to the Woking-based outfit until the 2025 season.
Lando Norris will take predictions as a promise, says Stella
In an interview with GPBlog, Stella, the team principal of McLaren spoke about McLaren’s recent upgrades. He revealed that after the ongoing summer break, more upgrades will roll in, which will bolster the British team’s performance even more. However, he declined to say anything more than that.
“We are working on an evolution of these concepts after the summer break,” he said. “But since Lando is here, I cannot say now when we expect to introduce it“.
Stella added that he won’t be commenting on when he will be introducing those upgrades. This is particularly because of Norris’ presence, as the 23-year-old would be taking his word for granted. “He would take it as a promise. Because drivers are like ‘okay, when will it come’, well: that’s as soon as you let go of anything about that“.
Norris will be hoping that McLaren’s strong form continues post the summer break. There could be some concerns, especially because of a minor slump he went through in the last race before the break in Spa-Francorchamps.
Norris looking to bounce back from Spa slump
At the 2023 Belgian GP, Norris finished P7, which given at the start of the season, Norris would be extremely happy with. However, after back to back P2 finishes, it was a bit of a disappointment for the Bristol-born driver.
Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri had a great weekend meanwhile, finishing P2 in the F1 sprint. It was his first top three finish in his young career. But misfortune came to bite him back in the main race after a first-lap clash with Carlos Sainz forced him to reitre.
Going by Stella’s claims, however, Norris should be optimistic about further upgrades helping him in his podium pursuits as the business end of the season approaches.
