From Oscar Piastri’s false start to the mathematically lost battle for the Drivers’ Championship for Lando Norris against Max Verstappen, to a reduced advantage over Ferrari, which is now down to just 24 points in the Constructors’ Championship standings. The Las Vegas Grand Prix was not particularly positive for McLaren, with Lando Norris finishing in 6th place and his teammate in 7th. The two drivers’ main focus now shifts to defending the Woking team’s position in the Constructors’ Championship against Ferrari in the final two races of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
A win would end a long wait and at the same time console the team for the loss in the Drivers’ Championship, although for Team Principal Andrea Stella, there are several reasons to be proud of the progress made during the season: “First of all, I would personally like to express, on behalf of our team, my congratulations to Max Verstappen,” said the engineer from Orvieto. “Four-time world champion, one of the greatest in the history of this sport. He fully deserves this title, having been incredibly consistent, even when his car wasn’t the best. Max and Red Bull Racing, the team that supports him, have done an excellent job. Congratulations to them. On our side, we can be proud of having given Max something to think about and of having brought the title fight this far into the season. I think we lost too many points early in the year when we weren’t competitive enough. Once the car improved, I believe we showed that we have the qualities as a team, and the qualities of Lando and Oscar, to compete for both titles.”
Regarding the weekend in the United States, Andrea Stella reiterated that the outcome of Las Vegas cannot be considered positive for the team, although they can redeem themselves next week in Qatar, on a circuit that, on paper, should better suit the MCL38’s characteristics, bringing them closer to their most coveted goal: “Tonight we can’t be satisfied with the result, because we race to finish on the podium and to win,” he admitted. “We had some issues with the car’s performance and the tires, and we will do a lot of analysis between here and Lusail. Considering the weekend we’ve had, I think we managed to limit the damage tonight. Qatar and Abu Dhabi should be tracks more suited to the MCL38, but there are always four teams in the running for victory. This is great for Formula 1, but it means we need to give our best if we want to win the Constructors’ Championship. Not long ago, the idea of being in contention for the title would have been incredible, unthinkable, but now it’s realistic, and we need to finish the job.” – the former Ferrari team member concluded.
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