Stella praises Norris’s adaptability after São Paulo win

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has singled out Lando Norris’s feel for changing grip as a major strength on display in the São Paulo Grand Prix. Norris was among the quickest to find the limit as the circuit shifted between wet and dry, Stella said.

At Interlagos, Norris took pole by two tenths over George Russell in Saturday’s rain-soaked qualifying and then won the wet-dry-wet race by 14 seconds.

Stella said Norris was probably gaining more time than any other driver during the race’s transition between wet and dry. He described adaptability as probably the most important quality a driver can possess.

The praise came with a caveat about the car: Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri have both described the MCL40 as difficult to drive and extract performance from. Stella hopes McLaren can offer them a competitive car that is easier to drive, so the team need not rely so heavily on those qualities.