Andrea Stella responded to the allegations from rival F1 teams that McLaren have faced, such as the alleged use of illegal rear wings and using water to cool tyres
McLaren boss Andrea Stella said he welcomes suggestions of wrongdoing from rivals as it proves that they are distracted from improving themselves. The Italian said “alarm bells should be ringing” for those who have raised complaints over the cars that are dominating the Formula 1 grid.
And that is exactly what the McLaren MCL39s are doing. The team has won five out of six Grands Prix held so far, the only exception being when Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory at Suzuka, using the tight circuit to keep the orange cars behind him at bay.
As a result of their performances, McLaren already lead the championship by more than 100 points and the battle for the drivers’ title looks set to be a two-horse race between current leader Oscar Piastri and last year’s runner-up Lando Norris.
But they have faced scrutiny from some rival teams who have questioned the legality of some elements of their cars. Among the accusations that have been levied are that their rear wings may be too flexible and that they may be using water within their tyres to keep them cool.
Whenever inspected, no illegal parts or designs have been found on the McLaren cars. But that hasn’t stopped some teams, including Red Bull, from casting aspersions.
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But such claims have not ruffled the feathers of McLaren team principal Stella. Speaking to reporters including Mirror Sport at Imola on Friday, the Italian said it was “good news” to see other teams distracting themselves by spending time and energy making complaints.
He said: “For us, it’s good news when our rivals focus not on themselves but on some of the aspects that, allegedly, are present on our car but which are, effectively, not present. Certainly, even if there were even let’s say flexi-wings [present], the front wing deflection like everyone has, it would have nothing to do with the reasons why our car is very competitive.
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“So I hope in the future there will be more of these kind of sagas, because it means our rivals keep focusing on the wrong things and, for us, this is just good news. It’s just helping our quest.
“Over the years in Formula 1, I’ve learned that you need to focus on yourself and on the fundamentals. When you get distracted by what the others are doing, that’s normally an alarm bell that should be ringing in your factory and should remind you to go back to the basics.”
Meanwhile, despite their obvious strength right now and the 2026 rule changes looming, Stella confirmed McLaren plan to devote resources to car improvements this season. He said: “Hopefully we will be able to retain this advantage over the course of the season, but I think this will require the car to be developed and upgraded.
“We see that no-one is standing still. We see upgrades being brought trackside by out competitors. We do plan to upgrade the MCL39 to try to, if anything, make the car more suitable for a wider range of conditions and cornering speeds.”
