McLaren boss Andrea Stella has argued the team’s missed opportunities in 2024 shouldn’t overshadow the “high standard” that it has managed to reach in Formula 1.
The Woking-based squad goes into the last three races with a 36-point lead over Ferrari as it bids to win the Constructors’ Championship for the first time since 1998.
However, McLaren’s prospects of clinching a title double this term were all but ended in Brazil last time out as Lando Norris slipped 62 points behind Max Verstappen.
Norris had a golden chance to cut the gap at Interlagos, but he dropped from pole position to sixth as Verstappen stormed from 17th on the grid to triumph in the wet.
McLaren has been made to rue driver and strategic mistakes contributing to it squandering numerous opportunities to secure more than five victories to date in 2024.
Stella has admitted McLaren’s approach has been to discuss each shortcoming in-depth as a team to minimise the possibility that it happens in the seasons to come.
“I think if you make the same question to every team, if they are honest, they will all say ‘yes, we have many opportunities that we should review’,” Stella told media including Motorsport Week post-race in Brazil.
“This is our mindset always. If you don’t review the opportunities, you are never going to get better.
“And while we are in this quest this season, we also want to be in the quest for the championship in the future, so we want to cash in every learning.”
Stella lauds McLaren’s progress in 2024
However, Stella is adamant that McLaren’s blemishes should not eclipse the progress that it has made to return to a position where regular race wins are viable again.
“At the same time I would like to review that since we delivered lap time to the car in Miami, McLaren has outscored by far every other competitor,” he continued.
“So I think that while we have opportunities, the amount of points that we have scored – not necessarily because we have had the best car like I keep repeating, because we had the best car at a few events, not all – it’s just because the team and the drivers operated at very high standards.
“We take these high standards as a positive, as the foundation to keep building.
“And to keep building, definitely, you need to look at what you haven’t done perfectly. But this is what we do all the time.
“This is where our culture works very well and hopefully, there won’t be many opportunities left in the final part of the season.
“But at the moment, we are extremely happy with what we have been able to achieve and with the standards that we have been operating throughout the season.”
READ MORE – McLaren: F1 Drivers’ title was ‘always secondary’ to Constructors’ bid in 2024
Discussion about this post