McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, explained that the team gave special attention to this year’s Las Vegas GP following challenges in the previous two editions. Their efforts paid off during qualifying, with Lando Norris claiming pole on a circuit where his best prior finish was sixth.
However, Andrea Stella stressed that the Woking squad does not expect an easy race with Max Verstappen alongside Norris, a driver who has already won on the Strip. He described the challenge for the British driver as “fought and uncertain.” After all, this is the same race that crowned Verstappen a four-time world champion 12 months ago.
With the title fight divided among Lando Norris, current championship leader, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen, this Grand Prix carries significant weight. Only 50 laps separate Norris from either victory or the looming threat of the Red Bull. With a two-win advantage over Verstappen and one over his teammate, Norris will aim to consolidate his lead in pursuit of his first career championship.
Stella on McLaren’s preparation
“We improved the car in several areas we learned from last year,” Andrea Stella said. “Regarding aerodynamics, tyre usage, and balance.”
“I would say that car balance is the most important thing we learned from the last stint last year. We focused in particular on ensuring the car would be competitive in Las Vegas based on lessons from ’23 and ’24,” added the Italian team principal.
Andrea Stella also highlighted the challenge Norris and Piastri will face in the race. He admitted that McLaren likely wouldn’t have secured pole without the favourable weather conditions during qualifying.
“It’s hard to say if we could have taken pole on a dry track. As I said before, we definitely worked hard on the weak points we identified last year to be competitive in Las Vegas. Some things we saw in free practice were encouraging, but I believe on dry we wouldn’t have had the same margin we had in the wet. So I think it would have been much more uncertain and closer,” he said.
“Certainly, I would have been surprised if someone had told me: ‘It will be pole in Las Vegas.’ I would have answered: ‘I’m not sure, it will be a very tight fight,’” Andrea Stella continued. “I think what we don’t see this year is… like last year, when one team dominated.”
“This year, it seems every team knows what to do in Las Vegas, which makes the race… I hope it won’t be too uncertain, but I expect the race to actually be quite tight and unpredictable,” the McLaren team boss concluded at the end of the qualifying session for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix..
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