Norris joined McLaren after a period in which they had slumped to the back of the field through the 2010s, and Stella was made team principal at the end of 2022, when their forward momentum of the previous three seasons had stalled.
Norris said: “We made progress, nothing clicked, or continued to grow, and it was hard to break that barrier of getting close to Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, because for such a long period they have dominated F1.
“Not only have we broken that barrier, we have risen to the top of it, and being the best team and hopefully going on to win.
“I don’t think from the outside people would give enough credit because it is not an easy sport.
“To go from where we were to out-do Ferrari, who have turned things around a lot, and catch Red Bull and Max (Verstappen), who one year ago dominated every race, for that to flick around so much we can only give a hats off to the whole team.”
Norris said his greatest pleasure was that he had had the faith to stay at McLaren because he believed they would become front-runners, when he had the opportunity to go to other teams.
He did not say it, but Red Bull have previously offered him a drive.
Norris said: “I’ve really loved it and enjoyed it and the fact I am proudest and most happy about is the fact I am still here, because I believed in the team for many years.
“I had opportunities to not be in papaya and maybe go on and win races at an earlier stage of my career but I believed and I wanted to do it with McLaren, the guys who gave me my opportunity in F1.
“We were hoping for next year. We didn’t think it would be possible this year, and the fact we are doing it this year, I am proud to have been on this journey and I will be very happy when I hope it is finished off.”
