McLaren problem emerges in Norris testing admission

2024 F1 drivers’ championship runner-up Lando Norris has admitted to experiencing trouble with his McLaren car in testing – something his team boss has doubled down on.

Norris is one of the favourites to win the drivers’ title in 2025, but recent comments from team boss Andrea Stella could disappoint fans of the 25-year-old.

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McLaren fared well within the three days of pre-season testing, placing top on the opening day at Sakhir despite impressive showings from Ferrari and Williams.

McLaren boss Andrea Stella admits to problems

When asked about a comment Norris had made stating he had 'a little more trouble with the rear than we would have liked', Stella agreed with his star driver.

"That's definitely the first thing he said. Not just when he got out of the car, but even during his stint," the Italian team principal told Autohebdo.

Bahrain is a track that is known to affect rear axles - something Stella was keen to expand on.

“When we were experiencing degradation issues, that was the main mechanism. As I said, it’s not a surprise in Bahrain,” he stated. “But it would be incomplete to say that we only want to improve rear grip in terms of corner entry stability and traction.

"We also want to improve the car’s mid-corner behaviour in terms of the front end. These are the three attributes that we have tried to improve over the last two years and again today.”

This could all end up as a simple blip for McLaren, who finished last year by winning the 2024 F1 constructors' championship.

Stella believes that issues with last year's car have been improved on, but not fully eradicated.

“[Sorting out rear end instability was] one of the goals of our development, and from what we’ve seen with the data, we think we’ve improved on that. But it’s never going to make these kinds of problems go away.”

The ultimate goal this season for both Norris and Stella will be the drivers' and constructors' championship, in what could be one of the closest seasons ever.

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