McLaren's Norris took pole for the Brazilian Grand Prix's sprint and finished second behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, and that result repeated itself in Sunday's Grand Prix after Norris jumped from sixth on the grid to second in Turn 1.
But as rival teams faded and finished over 30 seconds behind the dominant Verstappen, who took a record 17th win of the campaign, Norris was the only driver able to stay close to the Dutchman, finishing just eight seconds behind after matching the Red Bull's lap times for large spells of the race.
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But as the high degradation race progressed, Norris could clearly be seen sliding backwards throughout his stints, explaining that "I'm not far behind for the first 10-15 laps in but that final phase, I just drop off a bit too much."
Team boss Stella acknowledged that amid McLaren's impressive developments this season, which has turned into the most consistent challenger of Red Bull in recent months, tyre management is the one area that still sets Red Bull apart.
"I think the difference is mainly in terms of lap time on used tyres," the Italian explained. "We have seen that in new tyres, we can fight for position.
"But as soon as the tyres degrade, then it would appear like Max, Red Bull, they can just have less degradation. The tyres were degrading maybe one-tenth every two laps.
Source: Autosport