What impressed team principal Stella most about Lando Norris’s fabulous lap

Lando Norris’s pole position at the Madring came as a huge surprise to him – and also to his team principal at McLaren, Andrea Stella. During his media session on Saturday evening after qualifying at the circuit in Madrid, the Italian – who is usually so level-headed and meticulous – was full of superlatives. No wonder, given the fabulous lap his protégé had driven!

One of the most impressive laps from 450 Grands Prix

Stella: “I’d say that this was definitely one of the most impressive laps I’ve ever seen, having tracked the telemetry data at 450 Grands Prix. Because, to be honest, we weren’t at the level needed to secure pole position.” McLaren were clearly lagging behind in Friday’s practice sessions, but things improved on Saturday.

Stella: “I don’t think there was any point during the weekend when the car was on a par with the best cars. In the first sector, at low speeds and through the corners, we had significant shortcomings, and it was very difficult for the drivers to put in a good lap with this car.” On top of that, Norris had missed almost the entire second practice session due to gearbox damage.

Pole despite a mistake!

But Norris simply squeezed every last bit out of it. Stella: “We saw that there were phases where the potential was there, but it’s always very difficult to get everything to come together. What I find most impressive is the fact that it’s a pole position even though we lost 3.5 tenths in the final corner – which means that without that problem, it would have been a pretty convincing pole position.” The 2025 World Champion had a wobble towards the end, didn’t expect to take pole himself – and then celebrated all the more exuberantly.

But then Stella slipped back into her typically analytical mode: “What makes this lap unique – especially when you look at the telemetry data – is the precision: the braking, the speed going into the corner, the approach to the corner, and driving through it at full throttle. Everything is executed with a rather unique precision. For me, that’s the key characteristic I’d associate with this lap: simply the incredible precision in the execution, metre by metre.”

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