Team Principal Andrea Stella promises a “completely new car” for Miami, but also explains why this does not necessarily mean a big leap forward
Will the McLaren race to catch up begin in Miami? Although Oscar Piastri finished second in the last Formula 1 race in Japan, that was also the only podium finish for the world champion team in the first three races of the season. They are currently only P3 in the championship behind Mercedes and Ferrari.
“We always intended to develop a completely new car for the races in North America, especially with regard to aerodynamic improvements,” reveals Team Principal Andrea Stella and announces: “In Miami and Canada, we will see a completely new MCL40.”
What sounds like a major attack by McLaren on the competition could, according to Stella himself, merely be a minimal step forward. Because the team boss adds, “that’s exactly what I would expect from most of our competitors.”
In other words, according to Stella, McLaren will not be the only team to bring a comprehensive upgrade package to the car in the upcoming races. Because the break in April not only helped his racing team, but also “all the other teams”, emphasizes Stella, “who could now concentrate better on the further development of the car. “
”So there won’t necessarily be a shift in the ranking, but it will basically just be about seeing who was able to get more performance out of the same period,” explains the team boss.
In this context, he recalls that McLaren was lagging behind the Mercedes works team before the April break and was usually also slightly behind Ferrari. In other words, McLaren had to perform better than its direct rivals in April in order to close the gap.
“However, we are very pleased with the progress we have been able to make behind the scenes and therefore hope to see a slightly more competitive MCL40 in Miami and then in Canada,” says Stella confidently.
“Especially as we already put in a decent performance at the last race in Japan,” he recalls. The coming weekends in Miami and Montreal will show whether Piastri’s podium finish in Suzuka was more than just a flash in the pan.