McLaren boss Andrea Stella explains both the positive and negative sides of Ferrari's resurgence in the pecking order

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella explained that Ferrari's recent resurgence can have both positive and negative effects on his team's title chase. The Italian team recently performed brilliantly at their home race in Monza, where Charles Leclerc won the race.

Ferrari experienced a dip in performance after the Monaco GP, where Leclerc won. They were unable to bag any race wins in the first half of the European leg of races, while McLaren and Mercedes were in charge. After F1's summer break, the Maranello-based team brought a fresh set of upgrades to their home race in hopes of improving their pace.

Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio D'Italia 2024 - FP1 And FP2 - Source: Getty

In the Italian GP, the team was not expecting a race win, but due to McLaren's double pitstop and tire degradation, the Italian team got the opportunity to go long on hard tires and secure a race win with Charles Leclerc.

Speaking about Ferrari's performance at Monza, Stella explained that the team's improvement in performance can pose a challenge for McLaren, as they would face an extra level of challenge to get to the top podium step.

“I think Ferrari this weekend [Italian GP] were as competitive as us, at least with Leclerc, which for us is bad news. It meant we couldn’t simply cruise in the race, we needed to deal with them, and they did a good job exploiting some of the difference,” Stella said (via F1.com).

On the other hand, he explained that the Italian team's resurgence is good for his team since the Scuderia will also challenge Red Bull, which will result in McLaren having a better shot at the constructors' title against the defending world champions.

“At the same time, it is good news as it means we have more cars that can take points away [from] Red Bull, so I think actually this is better news for us. We need to make sure we maximise the potential that is available in the car, even if it means Ferrari will set a very serious challenge for victory,” he added.

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Frederic Vasseur pinpoints the area where Ferrari improved and won the Italian GP

F1 Italian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

After winning the Italian GP, Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur explained how the upgrades were not the only thing that helped the team at Monza. Speaking to the media, he said that though new car parts did help them improve, their tire management was key to clinching the chequered flag in Italy. He also added that the pecking order is extremely tight during qualifying sessions.

“For sure, you can say that the upgrade is crucial. But in the end, the pace [in the race] was more linked to the tire management. It’s in quali where you have six or eight cars [between] one or two-tenths that every single upgrade will pay a lot,” Vasseur said.

As of now, the Scarlet team stands in third place in the constructors' championship with 407 points. While McLaren is in second place with 438 points, chasing the defending world champions, leading the 2024 table with 446 points.