Following Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella praised Lando Norris for his great recovery drive.
Lando Norris experienced a setback in the title fight after crashing in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP.
Norris looked like a solid candidate for pole position in the Saudi Arabian GP. Unfortunately, the McLaren driver found the barriers on his first run in Q3.
The mistake led to Norris being unable to participate in the final part of the session.
Since the Briton failed to set a lap, he had to start the Saudi Arabian GP from P10 on the grid.
Starting from the middle of the grid meant his McLaren team had to go back to the drawing board and find a strategy that would help Norris gain positions during the race.
McLaren opted to have Norris start on the hard tyre compound to gain a tyre delta and advantage towards the closing stages of the race by running longer than the cars ahead.
Great recovery from Norris
In his post-race media sessions, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella praised Norris for his “great recovery” during the Saudi Arabian GP.
“Well, the short version is a great recovery by Lando [Norris].
“We had long discussions about the starting tyres.
“We elected to go on the hard tyres because we were hoping that even if for a brief window, we could have some possibility to exploit the pace of the car.
“I think on Friday, we saw that Lando [Norris] was the fastest driver in terms of long run and race pace simulation.
“So, we wanted to make sure that we were in a condition to exploit this, and in a way, this was a good decision by Lando [Norris] and the strategy guys.
“It actually unfolded pretty much like when you do your simulations on the paper.
“Pretty much that was the case.”
Battle with Hamilton cost podium
Norris finished the Saudi Arabian GP in P4, just one position shy of a podium spot.
Stella notes that his drivers’ battle with Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s great pace, particularly Charles Leclerc, were the key factors that prevented Norris from clinching a podium position.
“But at the same time, I think for a podium finish today, we would have needed not to lose the time with Hamilton.
“Obviously, Hamilton is Lewis Hamilton. He knows very well how to race. And for a couple of laps, he managed to pass Lando.
“And I think this cost us the time that ultimately means that we could not give a go at trying to overtake Leclerc.
“At the same time, Leclerc and Ferrari, they were very fast. Well done to Ferrari on their first podium.
“Very deserved, in a way, by the race pace that they exhibited, especially at the end of the first stint.
“That was quite impressive because we didn’t think that the medium tyres could behave like that.
“But in a way, it also gave us the confidence that the final stint of Lando would have been strong.
“And indeed, it was strong. There was not much degradation.
“This allowed him to pass Russell, but ultimately I think the time lost with Hamilton and the fact that Leclerc had such a strong pace meant that we couldn’t recover to the podium.”
Norris showcased his racecraft
While Norris had to concede the Championship lead to McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, Stella believes that his recovery drive in the Saudi Arabian GP was important.
Stella also thinks that the race showcases Norris’ “absolutely brilliant” race craft.
“Yet, great recovery. Important points for the championship. And also, I think, important for Lando’s morale.
“It shows his race craft is absolutely brilliant.
“And like he said in the in-lap, we just have to polish a little bit the Saturdays and we will have fun.”
