Stella (McLaren): This is how big the real gap to Ferrari and Mercedes is

Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris has only stood on the podium once in the last five world championship races, finishing third at the Barcelona Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri’s last podium finish? In Miami at the start of May.

Constructors’ World Champion McLaren is currently only third in the standings, trailing far behind Mercedes and Ferrari. A successful title defence is not on the cards. Team principal Andrea Stella is well aware of this.

The 55-year-old Italian analysed the Silverstone weekend as follows: “We’re still well behind Ferrari and Mercedes – probably by about half a second.”

“As for Norris’s race, we benefited from accidents that happened to others. Our strategy was fine. Lando did a good job of driving the car on old tyres whilst maintaining a decent pace.”

“But P4 flatters us; it’s not down to our own merit, but rather a result of other drivers having problems.”

Speaking of problems: Oscar Piasti got caught between the Red Bull Racing cars during the hectic opening stages of the Grand Prix and had to pit to pick up a new front wing as a result.

Andrea Stella continued: “It was difficult for us to assess just how serious the damage to Oscar’s car was. According to the data, it looked like a broken front wing, but it seemed to be in the area of the end plate, so we left him out for another lap. Then the wing collapsed, so we lost time and, of course, had to bring him into the pits. He dropped back to second-last place.”

“After that, Piastri showed decent pace. However, it would always have been difficult for Oscar to score points from that position.”

Stella’s conclusion: “The fact that we’re not keeping pace with the competition when it comes to upgrades is probably the biggest single factor behind the gap. We can see that everyone who brings improvements to their cars is shaving about three tenths off their lap times.”

“An Evo package from our side would definitely not close the gap we currently have to Ferrari and Mercedes, as that is, as mentioned, more in the region of half a second.”

“The second factor in England was the lack of grip. Conditions were difficult. The car was sliding about; it was quite unpredictable in the wind, and cars with more grip and more downforce have an advantage there because the car then reacts in a slightly more predictable way.”