Stella clear after question about Verstappen: 'We did not need that

Max Verstappen has dealt McLaren a blow last week by finishing first in both qualifying and the race in Japan. But has the Dutchman truly shaken up the British team with his performances? McLaren's team principal, Andrea Stella, answered that question in Bahrain.

Stella: 'McLaren did not need a wake-up call from Verstappen'

Stella was firm: “we didn’t need any wake-up call because we were not sleeping, and certainly we were not dreaming. We were wide awake, knowing that if we don’t capitalise on the full performance of the car, then we will be beaten.

"And if we capitalise, we may win by a very small margin. So for us, this is what we talk about in the team. These are the conversations that happen within the team. All the rest, for me, seems to be a bit built up externally, but it doesn’t represent what is in the numbers, in our view.”

If we are to believe the Red Bull Racing camp, McLaren does not have to fear miracles from the Austrian team this weekend. Christian Horner even stated that it was impossible for Max Verstappen to repeat the feat of Japan.

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