McLaren team principal Andrea Stella warned that Lando Norris’ Sao Paulo victory does not yet guarantee the 2025 Drivers’ Championship, urging the squad to remain focused despite the Briton’s strong weekend.
Norris secured his seventh win of the season in Brazil, a dominant performance that briefly looked decisive — he started from pole and led except for 12 laps during pit stops. The result leaves him 24 points clear of team-mate Oscar Piastri and 49 ahead of Max Verstappen, with 83 points still available across three Grands Prix and one Sprint.
The 2025 campaign has seen Norris take consecutive victories and, over the last four races, two wins and two further podiums. Piastri, by contrast, has not been on the podium since Monza in September.
Stella said the team is treating each event on its own merits and focusing on maximising points rather than declaring the championship decided. “For me, the only way I look at the classification is to go one race at a time and make sure that we maximise the points we score,” he said. “Honestly, while it could be a good exercise to talk about Formula 1… to look at the combination is now a championship that Lando owns, he doesn’t own.”
He added that the team’s priorities are executing weekends consistently and ensuring opportunities — especially for Piastri — are capitalised on. “It’s so academic. From a driver’s point of view, team point of view, we just have to make sure that we stay focused on ourselves and focus on executing weekends like Lando has executed here in Brazil or in Mexico. And for instance, with Oscar, make sure that our opportunities are capitalised. Honestly, when it comes to the points, we will take a look at the end of Vegas and we will see where we are. And likewise, after Qatar and Abu Dhabi.”
Verstappen, who had started the race from the pit lane, showed strong race pace and even led at one stage before his final stop. Stella acknowledged relief that Verstappen pitted late, which allowed Norris to reclaim the lead without a direct on-track fight, but he also warned that Red Bull remain a significant threat.
“First of all, I was hoping [Verstappen would pit] because it made our life a little bit easier!” Stella said. He noted the high tyre degradation in Sao Paulo and agreed that Red Bull’s decision to fit a fresh soft tyre was the correct call. “They showed a performance and a pace in the race that is meaningful — without the situation yesterday in Qualifying, I think Verstappen would have been there for the victory.”
Stella concluded that McLaren will keep targeting consistent execution across the remaining rounds, while monitoring the points situation as the season reaches its final three venues.