F1 News

McLaren team boss Stella reacts to Max Verstappen after Italy GP

Stella hits back at Verstappen: 'Max is good at talking'

1 September at 17:41
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  • Jeroen Immink

The McLaren team boss was asked another question by GPblog on Saturday: when will the Woking-based Formula One team dare to declare that it is going for both the constructors' and drivers' titles? That moment has come after the Italian Grand Prix, although Andrea Stella does not see Red Bull Racing's situation as dramatic as Max Verstappen's.

Verstappen weighed in scathingly on the RB20's current state after the race, in which he finished sixth. The Dutchman said the "most dominant car ever" has become a "monster" and that both world titles are not realistic for him and his team at the moment.

Stella: 'Max can not only drive well, but also talk well'

Stella has to laugh a little when GPblog told Stella about the comments. "Max is good even with his tongue. He's not only good on track," said the McLaren team boss. "Obviously, he knows that the car he's driving at the moment seems to provide him with some challenges. But we, I think, need to be better at capitalising the opportunities that Red Bull at the moment seems to offer by not being in the usual possibility of competing for podiums."

"So I think it's definitely a worthwhile exercise, like we do all the times, to review in the specifics, not only of the entire race, but even of the first lap, because I hope that we will be in condition to have these situations frequently in the future. It means that the two McLarens start from the front of the grid, but we need to make sure that this is the best for the team and the best for Lando," Stella concludes.

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton