McLaren made a clear step forward in Miami, with podium finishes for both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the sprint race and the Grand Prix. The team from Woking brought a comprehensive upgrade package, which team principal Andrea Stella described as feeling like a ‘completely new car’. However, the Italian was disappointed that McLaren could not convert the increased competitiveness into a victory; he pointed to shortcomings in execution.
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In qualifying for the main race, McLaren had to give ground to Mercedes, where Kimi Antonelli impressed again. However, the team recovered on Sunday with a second and third place, with Norris coming close to victory. According to Stella, the weekend gave a clear picture of the new balance of power in the field. “I think that due to the upgrades many teams have implemented here, we have seen new power dynamics,” said the team principal. “McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull have made up ground.”
Still, he sees Mercedes as the favorite: “I think Mercedes still has a few tenths advantage over the rest. That was noticeable today in the race. In my opinion, Mercedes did not use its full potential in the sprint race – for some reason. That made it seem as if the other teams had made bigger steps than expected. In reality, I think Mercedes simply made mistakes.”
Positive trend
According to Stella, tire management is still one of McLaren’s greatest assets. Last year – when the team took both titles – that was already decisive. “At the same time, pure speed is Mercedes’ biggest weapon,” he added. “Their car is a fraction faster than ours. When it is that close, execution and optimization are crucial. Although we had a very positive weekend, I think we lost the victory on that front.”
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The decisive factor was the pit stops, where Norris came in a lap later than Antonelli and thus could not counter the undercut. “I think the timing of the pit stop was decisive, although it was not just a matter of strategy,” Stella noted. “For example, we also lost time in the pit lane, which again is a matter of execution.” However, there were also plenty of positive points to mention: “We are very satisfied with the weekend and feel strengthened, not only because we scored more points in one weekend than in the previous three races, but also because of the trend we have started. We know more upgrades are coming and trust that we can take another step forward with them.” He concluded: “As a team, we may not have given everything today, but we must not forget that we were competing against a faster car.”
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