McLaren ‘cash in’ setbacks in F1 title ‘quest’

McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes the team is now ready to “cash in” on learnings made in F1 in its world title “quest.”

Whilst Lando Norris’s drivers’ hopes appear over with Max Verstappen now 62 points clear with 86 left on the board, McLaren leads the constructors', some 29 points ahead of Ferrari with Red Bull also within 50. 

If the team were to the constructors', it would be their first crown of the 21st century - and indeed of Norris's life - having last claimed the title back in 1998, with Norris born in 1999. 

McLaren's last title of any sort was Lewis Hamilton's 2008 drivers' championship success, with the team having been criticised at stages in '24 for not being decisive enough with its team orders and leaving points on the table for Norris. 

However, Stella believes the mistakes McLaren has made will enable it to continue on its "quest" to win the world championship.

“I think if ask the same question to every single team, if they are honest, they will all say: ‘Oh yeah, we have many opportunities that we should review,’” Stella told media including RacingNews365. 

“This is always our mindset as if you don't review the opportunities, you're never going to get better, and while we are in this quest this season, we also want to be in the quest for the championship in the future.

“We want to cash in every learning, and for me once we talk about reviewing opportunities at the same time, I would like to review that since we delivered the lap time to the car in Miami, McLaren have outscored by far every other competitor. 

“So I think while we have opportunities, the amount of points that we scored is not necessarily because we had the best car, but because we had the best car at a few events.

“It's just because the team and the drivers operated at very high standards, and we will take these high standards as a positive, as the foundation to keep building and to keep building, definitely, you need to look at what you haven't done perfectly.”

Stella on McLaren culture

Throughout the year, Stella and CEO Zak Brown have played up the importance of the culture they have been building at McLaren, with Stella believing the steps forward are a sign the process is working.

“This is what we do all the time, and where actually our culture works very well,” he continued.

“Hopefully, there will 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 of which we have been operating at throughout the season.”