Stella: Ferrari now has F1’s best chassis after Hamilton’s Barcelona win

Lewis Hamilton’s first victory for Ferrari in Barcelona has sharpened the competitive picture at the front of Formula 1, with McLaren team principal Andrea Stella concluding that the Scuderia now possesses the strongest chassis on the grid.

Ferrari’s cornering strength stands out

Stella said the Barcelona Grand Prix offered “clear indications” that Ferrari’s upgraded SF-26 has moved ahead in chassis performance, particularly through medium-speed corners. His assessment was based on the circuit’s ability to expose relative car strengths across a demanding range of corner types.

“I think this race gives us very clear indications,” Stella said. “I think these indications, in a way, are consistent with what we knew already. I think these indications are that Ferrari, at the moment, is the car with the best chassis.”

He added: “We see in the middle sector, especially in the medium-speed corner, that Ferrari is the fastest in the corners, not necessarily the fastest in the straights.”

Ferrari’s Barcelona weekend had already shown promise in qualifying, and Hamilton converted that pace into victory. While the Virtual Safety Car helped reduce the time lost during his final stop, Fred Vasseur suggested Hamilton had enough performance available to beat the Mercedes drivers regardless. For more on the decisive race execution, read our report on Hamilton and Ferrari’s Barcelona victory.

McLaren identifies its performance deficit

McLaren still left Spain with work to do. Lando Norris finished third after Kimi Antonelli’s retirement, but spent much of the race chasing the two Mercedes cars rather than threatening Ferrari.

Stella said McLaren remains competitive in high-speed corners such as Turns 3, 9 and 14, but lacks grip in medium- and low-speed sections. That weakness, he explained, points directly to the team’s development priorities.

“We have to add grip to the car of an aerodynamic nature, so add load onto the tyres,” he said, adding that McLaren must also improve tyre preparation for qualifying and reduce degradation in race conditions.

Mercedes still strongest overall package

Looking ahead to Austria, Stella expects Ferrari to remain the fastest car through the corners, even on a circuit with a different braking and low-speed profile. But he still believes Mercedes may retain the best overall package when chassis and power unit performance are combined.

For McLaren, the agenda is clear: add aerodynamic performance, improve tyre exploitation, and focus internally while rivals continue to upgrade.