Andrea Stella: What McLaren needs to improve; heat warning for Spielberg!

McLaren driver Lando Norris rounded off the podium in Barcelona alongside winner Lewis Hamilton and runner-up George Russell. His team-mate Oscar Piastri finished fifth. That’s 25 points for McLaren in Barcelona. The team from Woking, England, has thus consolidated its third place in the World Championship standings.

McLaren: Improving aerodynamics and tyre wear

To ensure things go even better in future, last year’s world champion has a clear plan. Team principal Andrea Stella explained what will be crucial in the upcoming races. After the Barcelona Grand Prix, the Italian engineer said: “In conditions like these, we need to improve our aerodynamics. We also need to come up with solutions that allow us to get more out of the tyres.” Tyre wear had been an issue given the conditions in Barcelona.

Reliability improved

Stella summed up after the Catalan Grand Prix: “Overall, though, it was a quiet and clean weekend, also in terms of reliability. We mustn’t forget that on some of the previous weekends we had reliability issues not only on Sunday during the race, but also as early as Friday in practice. So from that perspective, we’ve improved, although I don’t want to judge reliability on the basis of a single weekend, but rather over the course of the season.” In Monaco, for example, Lando Norris retired during practice with a power unit failure.

After a weekend’s break, we’re now heading to Spielberg and the Red Bull Ring. Stella: “Austria is a slightly different track. In Barcelona, stability, braking and cornering are essential. At Spielberg, there are more straight braking zones, and then you enter some corners at low speed. I’d expect Ferrari to remain the fastest car through the corners. Over a single lap, Mercedes should have the best car overall, if we look at the chassis and power unit.”

As for McLaren: “Our aim for the coming weekends is to continue developing our car by introducing further upgrades. But we’re also aware that our rivals will be bringing plenty of upgrades too. So, above all, we want to focus on ensuring we keep improving our car. Then the results will speak for themselves. The main objective is therefore to improve the car – and once we’re out on the track, we’ll see what’s needed.”

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Tyres set to be an issue again at Spielberg

As was the case in Barcelona, the weather could prove to be a complicating factor for McLaren. Stella: “It could be another hot weekend, which is challenging for the tyres. So it’s important that we work on this aspect.” Sunshine and temperatures of up to 31 degrees are forecast for the weekend in Spielberg. Tyre wear is therefore likely to be an issue once again.