McLaren boss Andrea Stella has explained a major weakness with its MCL39 machine as the F1 title fight intensifies.
The Woking-based team have been the dominant outfit in 2025, and could have won the constructors' championship in record time had it secured the necessary points in Azerbaijan, but an Oscar Piastri DNF and seventh for Lando Norris meant the fight goes on, on paper, until Singapore.
Throughout the Baku weekend, McLaren did not enjoy its usual pace advantage over the field, something also seen at the Italian GP at Monza, where Max Verstappen won, with Red Bull being stronger in low downforce configuration.
However, both Monza and Baku feature braking from high-speeds in a straight line, something Stella believes is not a trait the MCL39 excels at, as he also explained why the team could expect to struggle in the upcoming Las Vegas Grand Prix.
"From a performance point of view, if you had asked me, 'What is the most difficult weekend [for the team]?', I would have said it would be Baku or Las Vegas," Stella told the media, including RacingNews365.
"We know very well that the characteristics of our car means that it is very competitive in long and medium speed corners, of which there are none in Baku, likewise in Las Vegas.
"The car is not particularly effective in straight line braking, of which there is a lot [in Baku and Vegas], or when you have to go through prescribed trajectories.
"The car really wants to roll in the corners, like Turn 1 at Zandvoort is a McLaren corner, of which you have none in Baku or Vegas.
"But having said that, the car was fast enough to compete for pole position [in Baku], which is a credit to the engineers who have designed a pretty versatile car, even when not operating within the strengths of the car itself.
"So, Baku and probably Las Vegas, it will definitely not be a surprise that there are cars as competitive as McLaren."
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