McLaren believe that Verstappen may struggle to keep momentum: 'It will be very difficult for him'

After three Grand Prix weekends, Max Verstappen trails Lando Norris by just one point in the championship standings. While McLaren team principal Andrea Stella certainly respects the Red Bull driver's talent, he also believes Verstappen may face a disadvantage as the 2025 season progresses.

McLaren knows it currently has the fastest car on the Formula 1 grid, but that doesn’t guarantee easy victories each weekend. The Japanese Grand Prix was a clear example of that, as Max Verstappen managed to beat both McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, despite Red Bull's recent struggles.

Stella mentioned his competitors one by one after the race in Suzuka: Max Verstappen, Red Bull, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, and Lewis Hamilton. "Obviously Ferrari is struggling a little bit now but we treat all these certainly within the spectrum of the full season, at least until we have stabilised a little bit. Because I think at the moment, we are still falling within the variability of the circuits.

"We have Hamilton winning the sprint in China, Russell being competitive in the race in China. Here we have Red Bull and Max. I think we're still in a transient phase. We'll have to see how things settle down. I think definitely the most important condition to pursue both championships is having the best car," Stella said.

Stella sees a challenge for Verstappen 

The Italian believes that his McLaren team must maximise every race in order to stay out front in both championships. "It's important that we are in condition to win, we keep racing in a robust way. If you can't win, finish on the podium and in the long term, if you keep performing like this, I think this will be rewarding. I think Max at the moment is somehow making the difference himself, but it's very difficult to keep up for 24 events in a season if you don't have the best car."

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Stella admits McLaren struggled to fight an "elevated" Verstappen at Suzuka

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This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen