Andrea Stella/McLaren: Reasons why champion Lando Norris is lagging behind

Formula 1 champion Lando Norris’s third-place finish in Spain was only possible because championship leader Kimi Antonelli had to pull his Mercedes over to the side shortly before the end. Following the thrilling Barcelona Grand Prix, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella spoke about the competitiveness of the Papaya-liveried cars.

The 55-year-old Italian said during his media session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: “We saw significant progress in the race in terms of keeping up with the frontrunners, which is encouraging after the difficulties of the last two races. It’s good news that we were able to keep up with Mercedes, and things also went better in terms of reliability.”

“However, Ferrari have made significant performance gains, and their latest upgrades have now put them in a position to win. So, as rivals, we know there is still more work to be done.”

“Our analysis shows that we’re reasonably competitive in the very fast sections, but we need to add aerodynamic downforce to improve our performance in the medium-speed and slow corners. That’s where we’re losing time.”

“The way the car and the driver interact with the tyres over a longer race phase is also an area we need to examine and improve. Barcelona demonstrated that too.”

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“We also need to rethink our strategy, as the three-stop option would probably have been the better way forward. Ultimately, however, Lewis Hamilton was simply the strongest driver on the day.”

“We have a clear development plan to give the car more performance and will be bringing further upgrades. We need to maintain a high pace of development and focus on our own programme to close the gap to the front-runners.”