McLaren boss Andrea Stella has admitted the Mexico City Grand Prix has given the team reassurance in the Formula 1 title battle, despite Max Verstappen closing in.
The Woking-based squad’s four-race run without a win came to an end last weekend as Lando Norris dominated proceedings at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
The Briton’s return to the top step also saw him move back to the summit of the Drivers’ Championship as team-mate Oscar Piastri’s slump continued with fifth place.
But while Norris extended his advantage over Verstappen, who recovered to third, the Dutchman still narrowed his gap to the championship lead from 40 points to 36.
However, Norris rediscovering the superiority that McLaren showed earlier in the campaign has alleviated the concern that Red Bull’s renaissance could have inspired.
“The confidence in terms of the championship is increased,” Stella, whose team sealed the Constructors’ title last month, told media including Motorsport Week.
“It’s increased because we have proven that we have a car that can win races and in some conditions can dominate races.
“This is the most important factor to put Lando and Oscar in condition to pursue the Drivers’ Championship. I don’t think it’s about mathematics.
“I think it’s about competitiveness. And it was important to confirm this competitiveness.
“And I think even when it comes to Oscar, even if he lost some points to Verstappen, I think Oscar has got a lot of learning from this weekend.
“And that’s sort of an investment that you make to make sure that you are competitive in every condition in the final part of the season.
“So overall, we definitely, team and drivers, we come out of this weekend encouraged and optimistic for the final part of the season.”
Why McLaren is not counting Red Bull out
Stella, though, has insisted he is not counting Verstappen out, citing that the extreme cooling requirements in Mexico had compromised Red Bull more than McLaren.
“It’s a circuit in which the quality of your cooling system is important, because if you need to compromise aerodynamics to achieve enough cooling, then the loss of aerodynamic efficiency can be quite rapid,” the Italian addressed earlier in the weekend.
“So Mexico is not a place to judge, let’s say, a car, because there could be a cooling implication that can determine performance significantly.”
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