McLaren reveals Verstappen's role in Norris becoming an F1 world champion

09:08, 16 Dec

Updated: 10:01, 16 Dec

byKada Sarkozi

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella believes being able to fight a driver like Max Verstappen helped elevate Lando Norris' level.

"I think Lando elevated this sense of like, 'I can compete with Max.'"

- Andrea Stella

Norris was crowned world champion for the first time in his career at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The British driver needed to finish at least third to secure his title, and he did just that.

In the end, he finished two points ahead of Verstappen and 13 points ahead of Oscar Piastri in the drivers' standings.

The Italian team boss pointed out two points where the British driver managed to improve to become a world champion, one which were the battles against the four-time world champion.

He told GPblog: "To compete at this level, the only way to stay in the quest is to keep evolving continuously.

"If I look at Lando, definitely, this was a lot that was taken away from the quest last year, even if it didn't go to the last race, I think Lando elevated this sense of like, 'I can compete with Max.' There were some learning points like Austria, it was a tough one."

He continued: "This season there was another important turning point in my view which is the way Lando, and we talk specifically about him for a moment, responded to the difficulties we had at the start of the season.

"There was the start of a process which was structured, was holistic, it was involving the personal development, professional driving, race craft.

"It makes me particularly glad that Lando could capitalize on this, because this has been something that I have not necessarily seen many times before, in terms of the amount of work, the people involved and the rate of development.

"So I think this has made Lando even capable, and this again is valid for both our drivers, of absorbing a couple of tough moments."

Stella congratulating Norris at the Abu Dhabi GP - Photo: Race Pictures

The growth of Norris and Piastri makes Stella 'proud'

The lead-up to the season finale was far from perfect for McLaren, as Verstappen continued to close the gap in the standings.

Stella explained that the drivers did not begin pointing fingers despite the team's mistakes.

The team boss added: "Like, when we needed to tell the drivers that we got disqualified, that was tough, because they had done the job, but we had not, and they lost a lot of points.

"And in a similar way, absorbing the fact that in Qatar we had a moment where we could have done better, but we never pointed the finger at the team.

"So there's so many aspects on which both drivers have grown, and especially this constant support to the team, not only is the one that makes me most proud of our two guys, but I think it's also the most important for the overall success," he concluded.

GPblog's F1 Paddock Update

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.