Lando Norris ranked alongside Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, and Kimi Raikkonen in terms of driving ability by McLaren boss Andrea Stella

Lando Norris has been ranked alongside former F1 champions like Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in terms of his driving ability by team boss Andrea Stella. Andrea has been a part of the sport for decades now and during this time he has seen multiple world champions.

During his early years in the sport, Andrea Stella was part of Ferrari when the team was dominating F1. At that time Michael Schumacher was winning everything and was the benchmark in the sport. After the German's departure, Stella worked with Kimi Raikkonen and then later he forged a relationship with Fernando Alonso as well.

Stella moved with the Spaniard to McLaren when the partnership with Honda was about to hit the ground running. After Alonso's departure, Andrea stayed and is now the team principal. Over the years he has seen quite a few championship-level talents and in conversation with Motorsport-Magazin.com, he claimed that Lando Norris is definitely on par with them. He said:

“Lando is definitely on a par with them. He falls into the same category. The same kind of world champion material, the underlying talent, the mindset, the work ethic. It’s all there. They keep getting better."

He added:

“True world champions improve from year to year. That’s also the case here. They use their intelligence, their work ethic, gather the best people around them, and do everything they can to get better and better.”

Lando Norris on why he extended the deal with McLaren

Lando Norris delved deeper into why he decided to extend his current contract with McLaren beyond 2025. The young driver has been part of the team since his debut in 2019. He feels that the team has never been in a better position than where it finds itself right now in terms of achieving success in the sport. He said:

“To go from out of the points pretty much every single race to being probably the closest team on average to the most successful car that’s ever been in Formula 1, I think showed me enough, and showed everyone here at McLaren enough, that we have what it takes to challenge them."

He added:

“Therefore I want to create my own chapter and my own story of being with McLaren and turning the team around and being part of that journey. So of course there’s always interest and in the back of my mind it’s always like, ‘What would happen if I went here and what could I achieve,’ and so forth."

With his new contract, both McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will now be part of the team as it heads into the new set of regulations that come into effect in 2026.