McLaren boss Andrea Stella claims the dominance Red Bull and Max Verstappen are achieving in Formula 1 is an “extra motivation” for the squad to close the deficit.
Having been the main contender to Red Bull and Verstappen’s pre-eminence late last term, McLaren has begun 2024 with two podium finishes from the first five races.
Despite Red Bull’s dominance continuing at the beginning of this campaign, Stella has reiterated that he is optimistic McLaren can close the gap to challenge for wins.
Asked about what would be a sport without Verstappen and Red Bull, Stella said “You know what? Now that you say it, I think, I never thought about it.
“Because my focus is not about if there was no Max. My focus is how do we close the gap to Max.
“I have a lot of admiration for what Red Bull are achieving, and I think winning so consistently is not easy.
“There are so many reasons why things can go wrong, even if they make it look simple to some extent.
“Really hats off to what Max and Red Bull are achieving technically, operationally, sporting-wise.
“Because even if it looks like almost ordinary it’s not.
“So, we take it as an extra motivation we take it as a to some extent we do look at how they do things but my thoughts are how do we get there.”
Expanding upon its desire to keep closing the gap to the frontrunners, McLaren will introduce its first sizeable upgrade package at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.
Asked about his expectations for those parts, Stella said that despite not being as big as the ones introduced last term, “it should be noticeable” and a “step forward”.
“I cannot say much more than that. Because otherwise, we talk about numbers. I would like to keep confidential,” he continued.
“But let’s say not as big probably as Austria and Singapore. But noticeable.”
