McLaren detail eager pecking order target

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has revealed finishing third in the Constructors' Championship would leave the squad satisfied with its season performance.

The Woking-based squad is currently on course to reach its target as it sits behind only Red Bull and Ferrari in the standings.

It ended last year's championship in fourth place having made a strong climb up the pecking order during the second half of the campaign.

McLaren opened its podium tally for the year in Australia as Lando Norris crossed the line in third place.

Its strong start sees it sit 35 points ahead of rivals Mercedes after the opening four rounds as it aims to maintain its position in the pecking order.

“I think looking at the facts and looking at the numbers, if we could retain a third position in the championship, just establishing McLaren as the third-best car, that would be a strong result for our team,” Stella told media including RacingNews365.

“We would definitely welcome this kind of position.”

McLaren pushing 'as hard as possible'

However, Stella stated the team is not placing too much focus on where it finishes as it is not altering its development push.

“At the same time, there are some circuits like here [at Suzuka] in which we look like we can compete with Ferrari. So then we say 'why not?'

“But in fairness, the way you think in Formula 1, you just push as hard as possible.

“As a team, you try to develop your car as much as possible, maximise race weekends as much as possible and then try and see at the end where you are.

“It would not make much difference for us to say 'we want to finish P2 or P1' because we are anyway developing the car as fast as we can.

“One can say you may train your resources more towards the future - 2025 and 2026 - but the team is in a good position in terms of having enough resources to look at 2025 and 2026.

“We are in good balance and we will see at the end of the season. After Miami will be introduced some developments, we will have further information to see what we can compete for.”