How Andrea Stella was feeling after Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris to the 2024 title in Las Vegas

Lando Norris’ chances of winning the 2024 Formula 1 world championship were officially crushed as Max Verstappen sealed the deal in Las Vegas.

It was already highly unlikely that Norris would beat his rival to the title as he went into the Las Vegas Grand Prix 62 points behind with three races to go.

The Brit needed to outscore Verstappen by three points to keep his title hopes alive heading into Qatar. While neither driver had the pace to match the dominant Mercedes, the Dutchman did what was required and came home P5 over Norris in P6 to secure his fourth consecutive title.

The two drivers, who are close friends, have come to blows several times throughout the season and looked to have caused friction in their relationship.

But the duo squashed any bad blood between them as Norris and Verstappen shared a lovely moment in the media pen as the former congratulated the latter on his title victory.

However, while Norris was magnanimous in defeat, not everyone at McLaren seemed in high spirits after the race.

Andrea Stella was ‘a bit depressed’ after Max Verstappen won the title in Las Vegas

According to journalist Joel Lischka, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was left feeling ‘a bit depressed’ after the Las Vegas Grand Prix as his driver missed out on the title.

McLaren’s chances of winning the championship over Verstappen were already slim, and the Woking-based squad did not show the same competitive package that Mercedes, and even Ferrari boasted.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

While defeat was almost a certainty for Norris, Stella seemingly did not take it well. Lischka said via ams.F1: “Let’s move on to the next team [who] didn’t really deliver in Las Vegas, we’re talking about McLaren.

“They still had some hope, at least until the end they believed that they could maybe still win the world title, but Lando Norris could not keep up with his buddy Max at all, [they] started from the same starting row.

“In the end you have to say, Andrea Stella is usually the more optimistic person. Yesterday he seemed a bit depressed when he spoke to us.”

Was 2024 a missed opportunity for Lando Norris and McLaren?

When the 2024 season comes to an end in Abu Dhabi, many will be left wondering whether Norris and McLaren failed to take advantage of their edge in performance over Red Bull in the second half of the season.

It can be argued that the gap to Verstappen was already too large for Norris to make up – after all the Dutchman was ahead by 70 points after he secured his seventh win of the season in Barcelona.

But it will be hard to ignore the errors made by McLaren when they have had the fastest package on the grid while Verstappen and Red Bull struggled to find consistent results. Norris has made several mistakes that have cost him points in his bid to beat the Dutchman.

Despite missing out on the title, the Brit will certainly come back firing in 2025 and will be eager to challenge for the championship with a competitive car throughout the season.

Davide Valsecchi says it’s Norris’ turn to win the title in 2025, and with McLaren capable of beating Red Bull and not much expected to change next season before the technical regulations change in 2026, the Brit will certainly be a title favourite.