McLaren learns from battle with Verstappen: 'Foundations to keep building'
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
Lando Norris still has a small mathematical chance of winning the world drivers' title, but McLaren realises that Max Verstappen will also end up finishing first in 2024. All in a year when McLaren had the fastest car in the field for quite some time, the British team failed to make the most of this advantage. With an eye to the future, however, important lessons have been learned, team boss Andrea Stella believes.
Of course, every team will say after a season that a better result would've been possible if they had taken their chances here and there. Stella argues it's no different at McLaren. "This is our mindset always. If you don't review the opportunities you're never gonna get better. While we are in this quest this season, we also want to be in the quest for the championship in the future, so we want to cash in every learning."
Stella notes that since the Miami Grand Prix, McLaren has beaten all competitors in terms of points taken. But his message is that there is still room for improvement. "We had the best car at a few events but not all. It's just because the team and the drivers operated at very high standards. We take these high standards as a positive, as the foundation to keep building," he added.
Stella proud of the culture within McLaren
To do that, McLaren wants to look closely at what hasn't gone right. "I think actually this is where our culture works very well. Hopefully there won't be many opportunities left for the final part of the season, but at the moment we are extremely happy with what we have been able to achieve and the standards at which we have been operating throughout the season," Stella said.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton