“We knew before the race that Ferrari were the best cars”: McLaren TP unsure if Lando Norris would’ve challenged Charles Leclerc for the race win

Andrea Stella remains uncertain whether McLaren had the natural pace to challenge Ferrari for victory at the 2024 USGP. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, Stella acknowledged Ferrari’s competitiveness throughout the weekend.

Ferrari secured their second 1-2 finish of the season, with Charles Leclerc taking his third win, finishing 8.562 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz and 19.412 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. Lando Norris crossed the line in third but was demoted to fourth due to a penalty for overtaking Verstappen off-track. Stella noted McLaren’s encouraging race pace, particularly being quicker than Red Bull, but doubted whether they could have matched Ferrari’s strong performance in Austin.

McLaren showed a stronger pace than Red Bull in the final stints, but Norris's being stuck behind Verstappen hindered their progress. The gap to the Ferraris was significant, making it hard for Norris to catch up in the closing stages.

However, Verstappen’s tire wear became evident in his slower lap times during the second stint, which might have given McLaren an edge had Norris not been held up. Stella lamented Norris’ poor start, which dropped him behind Ferraris and Red Bulls, forcing a reworked strategy. He noted that without the slow start, the original plan was to extend the first stint on medium tires and recover positions with a late stop.

Asked by Sportskeeda if McLaren had the pace for more than a third or fifth place in the race, the 53-year-old replied:

“Difficult to say. Difficult to say because not necessarily the two Ferraris needed to push 100 % today. We already knew before the race that Ferrari was very likely the best car. I think it was clear throughout the weekend, even yesterday in the sprint. I think they would have not fight with each other, then they would have been able to win the sprint. But finishing behind the Ferrari was a good result for us."

"We were not very far. I think Lando because of losing the time at the start, in the first corner, kind of needed to accept that the needed to control the pace in the first part of the stint because then we could extend and try and recover the position at the end by stopping late. So difficult to say whether we were in condition to challenge for the victory. I think Ferrari were a little quicker than us. But I mean its reassuring to see that we were faster than Red Bull."

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McLaren team principal highlights Ferrari's strengths that won them the USGP

Andrea Stella believes Ferrari has been strong since the Azerbaijan GP in Baku, where Charles Leclerc could have easily won. He attributes Ferrari’s resurgence to their ability to maximize potential, particularly at the Austin circuit. Stella also pointed out two key weaknesses in the McLaren car which were the low and high-speed corners, which are also Red Bull’s strengths. However, he felt that the upcoming races in Mexico and Brazil would suit McLaren better. While the Austin upgrade didn’t have a major impact in terms of lap time, McLaren plans to continue developing the car in the remaining races.

Asked if Ferrari’s resurgence in Austin was a turnaround or circuit-specific performance, Stella replied:

“I think in terms of competitiveness, there's some multiple factors to consider. When it comes to Ferrari, I've said that already during the weekend, they have been quick over the previous races pretty consistently. If anything, they have not been capable of maximizing their potential. So, I think In Baku, Leclerc in fairness was definitely in condition to win the race. In Singapore, we were expecting Leclerc very competitive for pole position and therefore then it would have been the same in the race. So we are not surprised that Ferrari is so close and then if we look at the characteristics this circuit, in particular because they are braking in very low speed and some very high speed sections. We know that in these two situations, our car is not in the best of its performance.”

Highlighting the weaknesses of the McLaren, Stella further added:

“For instance very low speed and very high speed is also where Red Bull are very good. So if we the Ferrari, they were already competitive. If we can see the track layout, and if we consider that Red Bull had three weeks to look at data and think what is going on with their car. When we talk of Red Bull, its a very competent group of engineers, then I am not surprised when we are in Austin, we kind of struggled. I think the next circuit should be a little bit more suitable to the characteristics of our car. We also have to keep developing the car, like here we took some developments at the front of the car, but there were nothing too large in terms of potential lap time impact. We have a couple more things that are coming in the next two races. We will see if we are in condition to alter the competitiveness of the car, but not a surprise overall.”

McLaren leads the Constructors’ Championship by 40 points, but Norris trails Verstappen by 54 points in the drivers’ standings. A resurgent Ferrari could either cut into McLaren’s lead or help them fend off Red Bull, depending on their performance. To secure the Constructors’ title, both McLaren and Norris must deliver flawless performances over the next five race weekends.