Suzuka showcases McLaren’s return to competitive form
The Japanese Grand Prix marked a strong return for McLaren in Formula 1, with Oscar Piastri finishing second and Lando Norris fifth, demonstrating the team’s ability to fight consistently for the top positions. The Woking-based team redeemed itself after a disappointing start to the season, although questions remain about what might have happened without the Safety Car deployment following Oliver Bearman’s dramatic crash. Andrea Stella, McLaren’s Team Principal, candidly analyzed the performance in the Far East, starting with a surprising statistic: for the first time this season, both McLaren cars were able to start and finish the race.
Qualifying pace translates into race confidence
The Suzuka weekend confirmed that the competitiveness seen in qualifying was not a one-off but the result of growth across the entire package. Stella explained how the team found unexpected confidence in the early stages of the race: “I think we confirmed the progress seen in qualifying, progress that allowed Oscar to lead the race after a great start.”
Surprising performance in the opening stint
The biggest surprise came during the first stint, where the MCL40 at times appeared the fastest car on track, managing tire temperatures without sacrificing outright pace. The Italian Team Principal admitted: “We were surprised ourselves, especially at the end of the first stint, where not only were we able to keep Russell behind, but we were also extending the gap.”
This temporary advantage prompted the team to make a bold strategic call, aiming to bring McLaren back to the top step of the podium: “We thought we needed to pit first to maintain the lead because we wanted to give ourselves the chance to win the race.”
The Safety Car and Antonelli factor
The question of whether Piastri could have won remains central, especially given how the Safety Car reshuffled positions while McLaren seemed to have tactical control. Stella reflected on this variable: “We will never know if it would have been possible to win without the Safety Car. I think it would have been possible against Russell because we saw that George still struggled to pass even the Ferrari. I believe today McLaren and Ferrari were on a similar pace.”
However, Kimi Antonelli’s pace at the end confirmed that victory would have been challenging even in a clean race. Stella observed: “Antonelli had a faster pace than anyone else. So at some point, he would have been in contention for the win. Ultimately, it doesn’t make a big difference. Today, we should just focus on the positives, as I said at the start.”
Piastri’s resilience and Norris’ grit
One of the most encouraging aspects for McLaren was driver performance, particularly Oscar Piastri’s return to form after a troubled start to the season, with two race starts missed due to errors in Melbourne and a technical issue in Shanghai. Stella expressed great admiration for the young Australian, who managed the pressure of leading for several laps: “Oscar delivered superb driving after a great start with strong pace, fully deserving his podium. Despite missing the first two starts of the year, he is showing his strongest F1 version: calm, resilient, and an inspiration for the entire team.”
Lando Norris’ performance was also praised, considering his weekend had been affected by reliability problems during practice. Stella highlighted Norris’ adaptability: “Lando had a good race. It was positive that he was able to overtake Hamilton at the end. We had said it would be nice to fight with Ferrari, and we did.” He emphasized that Norris’ effort was almost miraculous under the circumstances: “I must say that Lando was kept a bit on the defensive by the team because we had various issues in practice. He had limited sessions… yet he brought home important points despite heavily compromised free practice.”
Mercedes power unit and Suzuka asphalt key to progress
Analyzing the MCL40’s performance, Stella identified the strengths and weaknesses of the current car. The Mercedes power unit played a crucial role, showing superior competitiveness at Suzuka thanks to a more refined software management system. Stella explained: “We can benefit from better exploitation of the power unit, which allowed us to be closer in qualifying and I think it helped us stay closer to Ferrari and Mercedes in the race as well.” He praised the work of the Brixworth engine team: “Mercedes has done an excellent job in terms of overall power unit competitiveness.”
Comparisons with Ferrari remain the benchmark for chassis efficiency, where the SF-26 still maintains an edge. Stella admitted: “Looking at overlaps during the race, you can see that Ferrari still retains a certain advantage through the corners. Their car can definitely generate more grip than ours.” At Suzuka, favorable conditions and new asphalt prevented graining—the Achilles’ heel of McLaren—from affecting performance: “In Australia and the Sprint in China, we saw that when there is front-end graining, we seem slightly more susceptible than Ferrari and Mercedes. With this asphalt, grip is very high and helps if you don’t have great chassis performance. I think Mercedes and Ferrari still have an overall performance advantage.”
Key focus: improving the MCL40 chassis
Finally, Stella urged the Woking development team to close the remaining performance gap separating the MCL40 from the podium: “Our execution in the race, the starts, the strategy, and the way we used the power unit were strong. While encouraged by this result, our objective remains clear: we need to improve the fundamental performance of our chassis.”
Having overcome a poor start to the season, McLaren now aims to become the missing variable in the early-season battle between Ferrari and Mercedes: “It is now our responsibility to provide both Oscar and Lando with a car capable of consistently challenging for victory, and we are focused on delivering the necessary upgrades in upcoming races to achieve this goal.”
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