Andrea Stella admits Belgian GP has exposed McLaren’s flaws

McLaren head into the summer break with 103 points and two podium finishes so far.

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella (Image credit: F1)

Oscar Piastri experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, going from elation over his second-place finish to disappointment due to an early exit at the Belgian Grand Prix. Unfortunately, McLaren’s performance in the race couldn’t match the sprint’s success. Lando Norris, too, encountered significant challenges during Sunday’s race. However, a clever strategy saw the Brit grab a few valuable points for his team.

According to team principal Andrea Stella, this weekend’s observations revealed areas for potential improvement in the MCL60’s performance. Some aspects of the car showed promising enhancements, validating their efforts. However, it also exposed areas that still required attention. The experience served as a reality check, emphasizing the urgency to address these issues promptly.

“The car is improved in some areas. This was confirmed. But, at the same time, this weekend confirmed the areas that we haven’t addressed yet. [It] gives us a reality check that there’s more work to do and, to some extent, confirms that those areas, they need to be addressed quite urgently,” Stella told Motorsport.com.

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Also read: “Karma for crashing into others”- Fans react to Carlos Sainz’s DNF soon after ruining podium rival rookie Oscar Piatri’s Belgian GP

McLaren’s strong form challenges top teams, but concerns loom ahead of Monza

Lando Norris at the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix (image credit: Autosport.com)

At Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone, Lando Norris of McLaren impressed with a third-place finish, closely followed by rookie teammate Oscar Piastri. This remarkable surge in form posed a challenge to top-tier teams like Ferrari and Mercedes, with McLaren occasionally outperforming them. Despite these successes, team boss Stella expresses apprehensions about their performance at Monza after the summer break.

Andrea Stella emphasized the urgency due to Monza’s upcoming race following the summer shutdown, unlike their approach in Belgium. McLaren needed prompt action to rectify the situation. He highlighted the valuable learning from the weekend, not having specifically targeted that setup. Enhancing low drag efficiency was on their to-do list, though given lower priority than other recent focus areas.

A new tyre whisperer! @LandoNorris managed these Softs for 26 laps. ?‍?#BelgianGP ?? pic.twitter.com/YZ8SDxwz5g
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 30, 2023

“Overall, let’s say there’s some learning we take out of this weekend. I think the opportunity to remark is not like we necessarily wanted to target this configuration,” Andrea continued. “Fixing the efficiency of the car at low drag is on the to-do list. But it was lower than some of the priorities that we have worked on in the previous months.”

McLaren, having established themselves as a strong contender in the midfield battle, experienced a relatively subdued Belgian GP. Unfortunately, Oscar Piastri’s early collision with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz led to his retirement, putting the responsibility of scoring points solely on Lando Norris. As the summer break commences, McLaren boasts 103 points, positioning them 46 points ahead of their championship rivals, Alpine, in P6.