Stella says McLaren matched Ferrari and Red Bull in Austin

Andrea Stella believes McLaren had the pace to compete with Ferrari and Red Bull in the United States Grand Prix, despite leaving Austin without a podium. Lando Norris ran second late in the race before finishing fifth, while Oscar Piastri came home seventh.

The team principal said McLaren had shown more of its car’s potential on Sunday than it managed to extract in qualifying. Norris and Piastri had started eighth and seventh respectively, but Stella cautioned that reaching the car’s full potential had been difficult this season.

Norris’s one-stop gamble could not hold off the challengers

Norris moved into second after McLaren chose a one-stop strategy. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, along with Max Verstappen, made two stops and were able to close on him in the final stages. All three eventually passed the McLaren driver.

Stella said a Safety Car would have helped the one-stop approach, but none came. He also acknowledged that keeping Verstappen and, especially, Leclerc behind was unlikely. McLaren had hoped its hard tyres might be sufficient to resist Hamilton, but Stella said that depended on how the tyres performed late in the race.

Norris regarded fifth as the best result available. Piastri, meanwhile, finished seventh after holding off George Russell.

Stella described McLaren as competitive with Ferrari and Red Bull in the race, while saying Kimi Antonelli appeared to have an advantage over the rest of the field. The assessment offers some encouragement after Norris’s recent run: he has not reached the podium in the four Grands Prix since his two summer victories.

McLaren expects upgrades in Brazil and Las Vegas

Stella said the team has further upgrades in development, with changes expected at the Brazilian and Las Vegas Grands Prix. He said there would be little new for Mexico, and framed the later updates as an effort to put McLaren more consistently into podium contention and closer to the level needed to fight for wins.

The planned development follows a phased approach, with McLaren’s remaining 2026 updates also intended to inform its next car. Read more about McLaren’s plans for its final 2026 upgrades.

Piastri has also questioned whether the team can resolve the MCL40’s difficulties before next season. His concerns add to the focus on how much progress the forthcoming package can deliver. Read Piastri’s assessment of McLaren’s prospects.