McLaren highlight 'privileged position' of stopping Max Verstappen dominance

Andrea Stella said he feels McLaren is in a 'privileged position' of being the team that could end Max Verstappen's dominance of Formula 1.

Verstappen has reigned supreme for the last four years, often standing head and shoulders above his rivals since claiming the first of his drivers' championships in highly dramatic circumstances in the title-deciding final race of the year in Abu Dhabi.

This season, the Red Bull driver has struggled to extract performance from a car that, up until recently, lacked the aerodynamic balance and grip he requires.

A run of three wins in the last five grands prix, however, has propelled Verstappen back into the title fight with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with the Dutchman heading into this weekend's São Paulo Grand Prix 36 points adrift of the Briton, who is only one ahead of his team-mate.

Assessing the mood in the McLaren camp, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, Stella said: "The mood is certainly very positive.

"We are very excited to be in this strong position in the drivers' championship. We have, I think, what is needed. We have all the conditions. We have a fast car, two fast drivers, and a team that is prepared and determined.

"We are also very excited by the idea that we are the ones attempting to stop Verstappen's dominance. We're talking about the champion of the last four years.

"So for us, we feel the sense of privilege to be in this position, and we will definitely keep the fight going until the last corner in Abu Dhabi."

McLaren 'talk a lot'

Even though the duo are only separated by a single point, and with the expectation that the tension between them would likely start to ramp up, Stella feels that is far from the case.

"Obviously, both drivers have known for a long time that the car was competitive," he said. "So they knew there was a possibility of fighting for the championship.

"But I don't see that this is escalating into anything more than focusing each of them on their own weekend and trying to extract the maximum.

"We talk a lot within the team. Obviously, this requires a high level of dialogue, and this is something that we normally do well at McLaren."