McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has staunchly defended championship leader Lando Norris amid criticism of his mental fortitude.
While Bahrain pole-sitter and race winner Oscar Piastri exudes calm, teammate Norris often slips into extreme self-criticism and frustration, as seen in what Stella called a "sloppy" weekend for the Briton.
Yet Stella, who has worked with titans like Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, and Fernando Alonso, sees Norris cut from the same cloth.
"I haven't seen any professional athlete, especially F1 drivers, or even world champions, who feel completely comfortable in a situation where they want to do something with the car, but it doesn't do what they want," the Italian said. "It's an awkward situation, but the way Lando is dealing with it is no different to other champions I've seen in the past. If anything, Lando has more style."
Stella conceded Norris' public candour is "relatively unique", often misconstrued as weakness. "He makes it visible," he said.
"He's very self-critical in interviews. I know other champions who would be quick to blame others."
He argued Norris' habit of "absorbing" mistakes and "blaming himself" benefits the team. "For example, in Q3, he didn't complete the lap and immediately raised his hand, even though we know we made some changes to the car that made his life difficult," Stella noted. "There are drivers who, as soon as there's a problem, blame the team. That's not healthy. It's not something you can build on."
Norris also stood up for himself, framing his openness as simply a release. "It's just an outlet for frustration when I haven't achieved what I wanted to achieve," he said.
"It's my deep desire to do well and my enormous ambition to win. That's just the way I am. But I don't think the things I say have a negative impact on me. I've done that my whole life, and I know how to block negative comments out of my mind."
