Lando Norris should feel pretty confident as he heads to the next race in Imola. After all, it took him 110 Grand Prix races to get his first win, so it’s been a long yet rewarding journey for him. However, his recent comments about McLaren’s prospects in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix paint a different picture.

Despite beating Red Bull and Max Verstappen fair and square in Miami, the British driver thinks that the team will do okay at Imola, but maybe not as well as last time. Norris shared some insightful thoughts about the upcoming race and McLaren’s overall performance. He believes that Imola is a track where McLaren tends to do well historically, both as a team and for him personally as a driver.

This gives him a lot of confidence going into the race weekend. However, he also acknowledges that success won’t come automatically. While he’s optimistic about making progress, he understands that wins like in the Miami GP won’t happen every single time. “I have good confidence, and I have told the team that we will make steps forward, but it won’t happen every time,” said Norris.

To challenge teams like Ferrari and Red Bull consistently, Norris emphasizes the need for more. He is happy with the efforts the team has put in so far, but he knows they must keep pushing forward. He also mentioned that there are more upgrades in the pipeline for the rest of the season. “The team have done a good job, and we have some more upgrades coming,” he added.

When asked about McLaren’s position compared to other teams after the Miami race, Norris simply said, “We are third,” which was a subtle hint to Zak Brown that the team still isn’t where it wants to be. Regardless of the lack of confidence to repeat the success of Miami, Lando Norris has been preparing hard with his team at the McLaren Technology Center and in the simulator for the race in Italy.

Evidently, McLaren’s team principal wants to build upon the hard work that has led the team to taste their first victory since 2021.

Andrea Stella wants more wins and podiums for McLaren

McLaren has seen a big turnaround in their fortunes since Andrea Stella took over the role of team principal in late 2022. It was under his leadership that McLaren was able to solve some of the underlying issues in 2023, leading up to the win in Miami. And while Stella is incredibly proud of the team’s achievement and the hard work they’ve put in to reach this point, he recently emphasized that the win in Miami doesn’t mean their mission is complete.

He described how the team came together at their headquarters in Woking to celebrate their success, but quickly shifted the focus on their goals. The team aims to consistently achieve wins and podium finishes, so they’re doubling down on their efforts to make this happen.

As McLaren prepares for the first European race of the year, Stella highlights the importance of continuing to improve. He said, “Imola is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar and should offer some good opportunities for us to continue adding to our Championship points.”

Will Ferrari outperform McLaren with their big upgrade package at Imola? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.