McLaren has signalled its intent for the second half of the Formula 1 season, with boss Andrea Stella confident the team can continue to assert dominance at next weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
After signing off before the summer break with four straight 1-2 finishes, Stella pointed to Zandvoort as a circuit where McLaren expects to be especially strong, having already excelled there last year with a less competitive car.
McLaren currently leads both championships, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri delivering dominant performances at the Hungaroring, Spa-Francorchamps, Silverstone, and the Red Bull Ring.
The form has raised expectations for Zandvoort, where Norris claimed the second victory of his career in 2024 with one of the most commanding performances of the year, winning by over 22 seconds.
Asked whether he saw any threat from rivals after qualifying in Hungary – where McLaren missed out on pole but still converted it into a fourth straight victory on Sunday – Stella pointed to the team’s relentless upgrade programme and consistent pace as proof their advantage is real.
“I think we have seen a very positive trend in terms of our competitiveness, especially I would say over the last three events in which we have finished in 1-2,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“And like I said in some other interviews, this is not only because we started with a competitive car, but actually, we have upgraded the car since Canada with what was in the past a single instrument upgrade, so it would have been very noticeable.”
“McLaren bring a new car and improves by a few tenths of a second, but in the recent races, we have upgraded the car with some parts at pretty much each race. I think here, the Hungaroring, despite the result in Q3, has actually proven that the car is faster.”
“In every single session, we will have a P1-P2 by a decent chunk compared to the next team. This makes us very positive about the remainder of the season. We look forward to starting racing again after the shutdown.
Stella warns rivals of McLaren dominance at Zandvoort
With the team’s pace and consistency established, Stella turned his attention to the circuits where McLaren anticipates performing at its best in the remainder of the season.
He highlighted Zandvoort as a track where the team could dominate again, while also pointing to targeted adaptations for Monza and Las Vegas to ensure competitiveness across a variety of challenges.
“I think we have some tracks that will be favourable to us again, like Zandvoort,” he added. “And we have also done some specific work for some tracks like Monza or Vegas, in which not necessarily last year we were dominant, and we knew that we needed to do some work for the performance of the whole track.
“So we definitely look forward to the second part of the season, and we expect to be competitive.”
Mercedes’ George Russell has already branded McLaren the “runaway force” of the season – a claim Stella was asked to respond to in Hungary.
The Spaniard seems to share Russell’s view, sending a clear warning to rivals that more Papaya dominance is on the way.
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