Following the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks ago, Andrea Stella approached the Monaco weekend with a degree of optimism. The McLaren Team Principal viewed the streets of Monte Carlo as a valuable opportunity for the Woking-based squad to return to the fight at the front and perhaps even repeat last year’s success, when Lando Norris claimed a memorable victory.
“We can say that, at the current stage of development, the McLaren is probably a car better suited to low-speed corners than medium- and high-speed ones, where we see Ferrari and Mercedes being superior. That should put us in a good position for Monaco,” Andrea Stella had explained after the Canadian Grand Prix, where the MCL40 had suffered particularly on the straights.
“At the same time, contrary to what people might think, Monaco actually contains several medium- and high-speed corners. If you think about Casino Square, you’re exceeding 150 km/h there, Tabac is around 170-180 km/h, and the Swimming Pool section is over 200 km/h. So performance in medium- and high-speed corners is actually important in Monaco, although some of the slow corners are extremely slow.”
The message was clear. Andrea Stella expected Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull to be among the favourites, but he also believed McLaren could insert itself into that battle at the front. The reality, however, proved very different and perhaps even more disappointing than anticipated.
Monte Carlo remains a unique circuit, one where many of the compromises that emerge at conventional tracks can be masked or even eliminated entirely. It is also a venue where the competitive order often changes dramatically compared to other events on the calendar.
Teams generally prepare for Monaco in a highly specific way and, almost paradoxically, it is not entirely surprising when the pre-weekend favourites fail to secure pole position. In some respects, the situation echoed last season. Ferrari had struggled in slow-speed corners throughout much of the year, yet in Monaco the Italian team rediscovered the pace that had been missing elsewhere because many of the compromises required at traditional circuits carried far less weight around the Principality.
These characteristics also played into the hands of Mercedes and Red Bull. The Brackley-based team, as highlighted on several occasions this season, possesses an excellent chassis that particularly shines during corner entry, especially when drivers are required to place the car with millimetre precision close to the barriers. That is a crucial strength around Monaco.
However, in a picture that featured a resurgent Mercedes, a competitive Red Bull and a Ferrari that, despite not being spectacular, still managed to lock out the second row, one major absentee stood out: McLaren.
Oscar Piastri could do no better than seventh place, finishing more than five and a half tenths behind pole-sitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Lando Norris was only eighth and abandoned his final qualifying attempt after making a mistake during a lap that, in any case, would not have brought him close to the front.
Andrea Stella did not hide his disappointment after the session. The McLaren boss had expected at least a third-row result and viewed the outcome as a reality check, particularly for Lando Norris.
“Obviously, I’m the one driving the car, so I can tell how difficult it is to extract lap time and how difficult it already was last weekend in Montreal. That’s why I was so surprised that we were as competitive as we were,” explained the reigning world champion after qualifying.
“Monaco is a sort of… I wouldn’t call it a slap in the face, but it’s certainly a bit of a reality check regarding how far away we are. I didn’t have huge expectations for this weekend. The car is simply very difficult to drive, not very forgiving and not forgiving at all when you make mistakes. Last year my confidence level was 100, now it’s 85. And in Monaco, you know, you need to be at 100.”
Confidence is the key word, and it is hardly surprising that lap time becomes difficult to find when a driver is not completely comfortable with the car. It is no secret that the MCL40 has often been gentle on its tyres but has struggled on circuits where bringing them into the correct operating window is particularly difficult. Earlier in the season, in Australia and China, the car suffered significant front-tyre graining issues.
After Friday’s Monaco struggles, when McLaren found itself roughly one second off the pace, the team managed to halve the deficit. Engineers successfully addressed the engine-braking issues that had affected the opening practice sessions and also found a way to use the tyres more effectively.
Ultimately, however, those improvements were not enough to transform McLaren into a genuine contender for the front rows of the grid.
For Lando Norris, the problem was not simply related to tyre behaviour. In his view, the issue lies with the overall characteristics of the car, beginning with a clear lack of aerodynamic load compared to its direct rivals.
The updates introduced in Miami helped improve that aspect and also delivered greater rear-end stability, but what appeared to be missing throughout the Monaco weekend was front-end responsiveness and confidence on corner entry.
“I think in the end we managed to get the tyres working. Yesterday we struggled, today I think I managed to bring them into a better window. But when you have less grip and less aerodynamic load, it’s much harder to make everything work. So maybe compared to the others, yes, but the point is that when you increase grip and increase downforce, the car simply doesn’t perform the way it should. That’s really where the problem is.”
“We have difficulties with certain characteristics, with front locking and with a front end that doesn’t work very well. But that’s a car problem, not a tyre problem. Or maybe a combination of both. It’s something we need to work on.”
An examination of both Oscar Piastri’s and Lando Norris’ qualifying laps confirms those concerns. The most significant difficulties appeared through the medium-speed Casino section, where the MCL40 struggled both on corner entry and in carrying speed through the apex.
Those weaknesses also reappeared under braking and in the slower parts of the circuit, particularly throughout the middle sector and in the final two corners of the lap. Rather than excelling in the areas where McLaren expected to make the difference, the MCL40 exposed a surprising lack of pure downforce and front-end confidence.
That combination ultimately prevented both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from challenging Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull. For a team that arrived in Monaco hoping to fight near the front, qualifying instead raised fresh questions about the true strengths and weaknesses of the current McLaren package.
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