Saturday at the 2025 F1 US GP proved disappointing for McLaren Racing, as both drivers suffered a first-lap double retirement in the Sprint Race and delivered a qualifying performance below the team’s usual standards. Team Principal Andrea Stella reflected on the setbacks, acknowledging a tough day for the team. Once again, it was Max Verstappen and Red Bull stormed to pole with a stellar lap. As Verstappen continues to close the gap to both McLaren drivers in the Drivers’ Standings, he has become an increasingly serious threat to McLaren and their hopes in crowning their first Drivers’ Champion since 2008.
While Lando Norris secured himself a front-row start for Sunday’s race, current championship leader Oscar Piastri struggled to for one-lap pace during Qualifying and could only manage P6. Speaking in a print media session after Qualifying, Stella shared his thoughts on McLaren’s lack of one-lap pace and acknowledged Verstappen and Red Bull’s speed in recent rounds.
Sprint incidents may have affected Qualifying performance
Piastri’s Turn 1 incident, which took both him and Norris out of the race, has sparked debate. Regardless, it was the last thing the championship leader needed, especially following the drama that unfolded in Singapore.
After both McLaren drivers retired from the Sprint Race, both sides of the garage faced extensive repair work to get both cars ready in time for Qualifying. Stella revealed that the Sprint Race incident may have affected the team’s performance during Qualifying, but emphasised that Red Bull continue to have a clear advantage over their competitors.
“Yeah, well, first of all, what happened in the sprint may have affected our performance in qualifying for a measure that is milliseconds. Like if we see the gap to Verstappen, it’s measurable in tenths of a second. And I think at least two tenths is a fair gap that we added today to Red Bull.
“I think we have to admit that at the moment Verstappen and Red Bull are the most competitive cars. Up to a certain point, we talked about the impact of the track layout. And I think this is true in Baku, it’s true in Singapore and to some extent it’s true in Austin.”
Multiple factors played into the results achieved on Saturday
Noting that the gaps to Verstappen can’t be blamed solely on track layouts, he recognised that Red Bull have clearly improved their car. He added that other competitors, like Mercedes and Ferrari, who have introduced new upgrades to their cars may have been another factor into why it appeared to be a struggle-filled day for them. While the MCL39 has delivered an extremely dominant 2025 season for the Woking-based team, Stella said that McLaren need to find more from their current package.
“But the gaps we are experiencing now to Verstappen, they can’t only be ascribed to the track layout. I think it’s clear that Red Bull has taken a step forward. And on our side, we need to look at how we can extract more out of the package.
“We have discussed after Singapore that there were upgrades also for Mercedes. I think here Ferrari has always been quite competitive. Last year they were super competitive. So hopefully there is an effect of the track layout. But at the same time, I think the competitors have improved their cars. And if you want, this compounds with the fact that today we didn’t maximise in qualifying our performance because of having missed the Sprint.”
Stella added: “So there are multiple factors. But overall, the kind of advantage that we have experienced in some races this season, not necessarily we will experience any more for the final part of the season.”
Stella: Verstappen and Red Bull combination is unstoppable
Stella confirmed that Verstappen and Red Bull currently represent the most competitive driver-and-car combination. When asked about how he views the team’s competitiveness for the rest of the season, Stella believes they’ll be able to capitalise on their car’s strengths in Brazil, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Stella said: “Let’s say that I can confirm what I said before, that I think the most competitive combination of car and driver at the moment seems to be Verstappen and Red Bull. And this has been confirmed in multiple layouts.”
“I still think that in the three venues [Brazil, Qatar and Abu Dhabi] that you mentioned, we should be able to exploit the strength of the car, which comes mainly when you can roll speed in the middle of the corner. And even today, we were definitely struggling in all the braking zones. However, let’s say I would have expected a smaller gap here, if anything.”
Stella stressed the need of assessing the situation objectively. He further emphasised how the team should prepare to bring the fight to Verstappen and Red Bull at each of the remaining five races.
“So, we have to look at the facts, we have to look at the numbers, just objectively. Not necessarily we maximised what the performance was available today in the car, for the reasons that I explained before. But we need to be ready as a team and as drivers to Max and Red Bull being competitive and possibly the fastest car at every of the remaining races.”
Red Bull’s late-season resurgence
Since Monza, it has become clear that Verstappen and Red Bull have discovered something in their package that has clicked for them. However, as we reach the closing stages of the current technical regulations and season, Stella explained that there’s little teams can do to directly copy from competitors and suggested that Red Bull’s issues may have stemmed from aerodynamic elements of their car.
“But in reality, especially at this level of maturity of the technical regulations and development, there’s nothing that you can take from another car. Do something that may look like a component on another car and have any probability that it’s going to work. So I think if they have improved their car, it’s because they might have fixed some potential aerodynamic issues.”
Noting how Red Bull have introduced upgrades to their car in recent rounds, Stella believes that their improvements have likely come from better understanding how to optimise aspects, like ride height, for this current generation of cars.
Stella said: “We know, like I said before, that there was a new floor in Monza, a new front wing in Singapore. And also, I think I said that already, they seem to be much more vocal, their drivers, about ride and about grounding.
“So it could be that they have simply understood that this generation of cars, and their own car as well, needs to be run challenging some aspects like ride heights. For me, if I had to speculate, this would be where I would put my $1.”
