McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, has explained why Red Bull seems to have gained on his team and Ferrari.
Red Bull extends over McLaren and Scuderia Ferrari, but Andrea Stella urges calm: “In twelve months, we can catch up with them.” It’s evident that Max Verstappen is competing in a league of his own. His consistent performance and race pace are unreachable for all rivals, except on rare occasions. Despite upcoming updates for Woking and Maranello, the situation seems even worse than in 2023.
Have Red Bull’s rivals taken a step back compared to Milton Keynes? It almost seems to be the case. Aside from Australia, where he retired due to brake issues, Max Verstappen has appeared unstoppable in the other four races so far. A total domination, marked by three Red Bull 1-2 finishes, which might suggest an even more extensive dominance than in 2023.
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, explains clearly the circumstances that led to the RB20’s further step forward: “I don’t think Red Bull developed their car that much last year. To bring so many innovations to the RB20, they must have spent months of work. Work that they did by sacrificing RB19 development.”
“So, even though it seems like we have lost ground,” continues Andrea Stella, “this is because while they were working on the 2024 car, we were closing in. We need to look at things in the long term. We are on a great trajectory, and who knows, maybe in twelve months, we could catch Red Bull.”
So, no panic, in fact: Andrea Stella shows confidence in his team’s abilities. After the second place at the Shanghai circuit in China, can anyone blame the Italian engineer? The battle for second place – at least until Imola and the SF-24 EVO – seems to offer the excitement that is missing at the front. Time will tell, though: the opponents are now “working like crazy.” – the McLaren team principal concluded.
Leave a Reply