Since joining Formula 1 in 2019, Lando Norris has continued to impress year after year.
The Brit was the only driver that did not race for Mercedes, Red Bull or Ferrari to stand on the podium last season and finished at the best of the rest driver in the championship.
Norris is still waiting on his first win in Formula 1 however, with McLaren not yet providing their driver with a car capable of challenging the top teams.
McLaren’s shortcoming have maybe prevented Norris from getting the recognition that he deserves, with the 23-year-old constantly outperforming what is expected from him in a McLaren.
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New team principal Andrea Stella was recently interviewed by talkSPORT.com and was asked whether he believes that only Max Verstappen performed better than Norris last season.
“I’m glad that you recognise it because I think that your comment is absolutely fair,” replied Stella.
“I think Lando has been – if we consider exploiting the package – I think Lando has been maybe the second best driver last season.”
When asked whether he also agrees that he was the second best driver last year, Norris was a lot more diplomatic with his answer.
“I don’t know, I’m never one that thinks too much,” he said. “I’m not a guy who tries to boost my own ego and things like that.
“I believe I did a good job last year, I still believe I did a good job the year before even when I had my four or five podiums, so no, I feel like I’ve been doing well the last couple of years and I’ve been performing well.
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“I definitely stepped it up a bit last year in terms of the consistency, probably delivering in a slightly more difficult and less performing car to drive, and I’ll just continue to do that, it doesn’t matter if last year was better or worse.”
Norris’ impressive performances in recent years have seen the 23-year-old linked with a move to Red Bull, a team that he has previously rejected in favour of signing a new contract with McLaren.
The Brit is more than capable of winning races, leading fans to believe that should McLaren not be able to provide Norris with a race winning car within the next couple of seasons, Norris may be forces to move to a more competitive team.