After years of battling to return to the top, McLaren now leads the Constructors’ Championship with a 41-point advantage over Red Bull ahead of the 19th round of the 2024 Formula 1 season, the United States Grand Prix, which is set to take place next weekend at COTA. However, Zak Brown, the team’s CEO, warns: “In Formula 1, everything can change quickly.” Despite their technical superiority, the team is aware of the upcoming challenges, such as Red Bull’s updates at Austin. Zak Brown also praised Andrea Stella, the team principal, for his pragmatic approach: “Race by race, without feeling like we’ve arrived.”
Confidence but caution: Andrea Stella’s mantra
Andrea Stella embodies the essence of McLaren’s new course: staying grounded and fully dedicated to each race weekend. While Brown initially thought the season would be dominated by Max Verstappen, unpredictability has revealed a very different picture. Andrea Stella, however, leaves no room for self-congratulation, focusing solely on keeping the pressure on. This conservative approach seems to be the key to avoiding complacency.
The American manager, quoted by RacingNews365, said: “He (Andrea Stella) is rather conservative and down-to-earth because he wants the team to keep pushing. And at the beginning of the year, I thought Verstappen would win 24 races, but now he hasn’t come first in eight. So, we know how quickly things can change in just a few GPs, and there’s still a long way to go. We need to make sure we don’t get too comfortable.”
Red Bull still lurking
Despite McLaren’s dominance, the Woking team is not ignoring the Red Bull threat. The updates expected for the Austin GP are seen as a potential turning point for the Austrian team, but Brown remains unfazed. “Every track presents its challenges,” he commented, “but so far, we’ve proven strong on all of them. The car is responding well, and we’re ready for whatever comes our way.”
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