Lando Norris makes subtle Lance Stroll jab in McLaren and Aston Martin fight

Lando Norris has taken a subtle dig at Lance Stroll’s performances, claiming that the fact that Aston Martin doesn’t have both drivers fighting regularly in the points will help McLaren take chunks out of their advantage in the Constructor Championship.

McLaren head into the final six rounds of the season with 49 points to make up if they are to jump Aston Martin in the standings. The Woking-based team made a huge dent into the deficit with a double podium at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

Norris led home rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri to seal P2 and P3 finishes for the team at Suzuka, adding a mighty 33 points to the team’s tally for the season. Aston Martin, meanwhile, scored just four points after Fernando Alonso converted a P8 result.

When asked if McLaren could catch and overtake Aston Martin in the championship, Norris replied: “Yes. I didn’t think it was that close. But yeah, if it’s 49 [points] then I definitely think so. There are not many races left.

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“I’m sure there’s going to be a couple where Aston is going to be a bit stronger. But I think our advantage at the minute compared to almost every team, bar a couple, is we have two drivers who are up there fighting for these positions and fighting for these points.

“Not every team has that at the minute. So I think that’s helping us. We can help one another, we can use one another, and I think that’s a good advantage we have over a lot of other teams at the minute. So we’re on an upward trend.”

Stroll’s performances have been a major talking point in 2023. The young Canadian started the season with credit in the bank after marking a sensational return from injury with some strong performances to kickstart the season.

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However, as the season has progressed and Aston Martin’s performance relative to the rest of the field has tailed off, Stroll has struggled to hold a candle to team-mate Alonso’s performances. 

After 16 races in 2023, the 24-year-old has scored just 47 points, while his two-time world champion team-mate has 174 points and seven podiums to his name. These numbers, combined with some costly crashes, have put Stroll in the firing line. 

With McLaren closing up in the standings and extracting much greater performance from the package, Stroll’s struggles could be the deciding factor in costing Aston Martin fourth place in the Constructor Championship.

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