Stella explains why the conditions at Imola did not play into McLaren's hands

09:58, 20 May

byOlly Darcy

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explains why the conditions at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix did not play into his team's hands, also seeing the title race become much tighter due to Red Bull "taking a step forward".

Oscar Piastri took pole position around Imola on Saturday as McLaren searched for their sixth win in seven races to start the 2025 season, but a stunning lap 1 overtake and imperious drive from then on from Max Verstappen saw little challenge come from the papaya-coloured team.

After the Grand Prix, Stella admitted that the British team "did not have enough pace at any stage of the race" to challenge Verstappen and Red Bull, a surprising admission despite the warm track temperatures potentially playing into their hands.

Verstappen's second win of the season denied Piastri his fifth of the campaign, closing the Australian driver's title lead to just 22 points over the Dutchman

With tyre wear usually being the differentiating factor for McLaren and the rest of the grid, especially in warmer temperatures, Stella was quizzed as to why the conditions on Sunday in Imola did not result in another McLaren win.

"We will have to look at the data. We will have to look at the behaviour of the tyres and their thermal regime," began Stella, speaking to several media sources, including GPblog, in the Imola paddock.

"I think what's happening today is a combination of... Red Bull, I think, has improved. They've been developing their car over the last couple of races, and I think they have taken a step forward," continued the Italian.

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Wth the added pressure coming from Red Bull, Stella also admitted that the track layout of the iconic circuit does not play into the hands of the MCL39.

"If we look at the speed of the corners and compare it with the speed in Miami, maybe one day I can come with the telemetry and we make it slightly more technical, it's a completely different regime. The car operates in a completely different part of the aerodynamic maps," the 54-year-old explained.

"I think we know that our car is strong in track layouts like Miami or Bahrain, or China. But when it comes to high-speed corners like we have here in Imola, I don't think we enjoy any particular advantage. So the track layout, the progress of Red Bull, I think they are the two factors that meant that we didn't have much advantage today," concluded Stella.