McLaren’s strong form has propelled team papaya to the top of F1’s Constructors’ standings for the first time since2014, but team principal Andrea Stella believes his outfit owes the achievement first and foremost to its "hard work" and execution and not to the superiority of its MCL38 contender.
While McLaren, like its Ferrari and Mercedes rivals, looked set to succumb once again to Red Bull’s dominance in the first part of this year’s campaign, the Woking-based outfit properly kicked into gear in Miami where Lando Norris claimed his maiden win in F1.
Since, the team’s remarkable form has seen it erase a 115-point deficit to Red Bull in the championship and transform it into a 20-point advantage with seven races left on the docket.
“If I looked at it for a second as a milestone, then it’s definitely huge,” Stella said as he reflected on the McLaren’s season year-to-date, quoted by Speedcafe.
“We don’t have to forget that at the start of 2023, we were last when we started the season, and now we lead the classification.
“That’s a huge milestone that has been possible thanks to great work, the hard work, and the quality of the work of the entire team.”
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Stella has been the chief architect of McLaren’s resurgence since taking over from Andreas Seidl at the start of 2023, restructuring the team’s technical department and elaborating a comprehensive development programme that has carried the outfit from one level to the other over the past 14 months.
In addition to Norris’ maiden triumph last May, Oscar Piastri conquered his first Grand Prix win in Hungary in July, while another win for Norris at Zandvoort and the young Aussie’s exceptional drive in Baku have solidified McLaren’s position as a serious championship threat.
However, despite their recent success, Stella remains focused and cautious about the road ahead.
“We just focus on executing at every single event, delivering the upgrades that we still plan to take to some of the future races,” he stated.
Acknowledging that the car is still not dominant across all tracks, Stella emphasized the importance of continued development.
“The car, as a matter of fact, is still not fast enough to create some boring races. [It’s] not in the interest of Formula 1, but is definitely the way in which we want to go racing.
“We have work to do in terms of making the car faster. And we need to remain humble and we need to keep the feet on the ground.”
The Italian is also mindful of McLaren’s incredibly strong competition, recognizing the tight margins between the top teams.
“There’s not been much to pick at all between the top four teams; McLaren is the best car in some kinds of circuits, like Barcelona, Hungary, Zandvoort, for good technical reasons,” he added.
“McLaren did not enjoy any advantage over Ferrari [in Azerbaijan] and I think not even over Red Bull. Execution by the drivers and the execution by the team is just what makes the difference.”
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