Stella concedes: McLaren not a top four team yet

McLaren are likely to endure a tough start to the season after a pessimistic verdict from the new team boss Andrea Stella.

The new McLaren MCL60 is yet to set any headline times in pre-season testing. Instead, both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have appeared to struggle with the handling of the car.

On the morning of test day three, Piastri survived a big off-track moment as he gets to grips with Formula 1 and his new car.

Zak Brown has already delivered an unoptimistic verdict on their current performance, and has pinned hopes on mid-season updates.

Based on their performance in the first two days of testing, Stella was asked for his predictions for the season-opener in Bahrain.

"I think we will see that the midfield is very compact," Stella cautiously told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"This means that if you don't do a good enough job, even in setting up and maximising what you have, you may struggle to get out of Q1. At the same time, you might be a Q3 contender.

"I think when I'm talking about competitiveness at the moment, I would say our objective through the season is to be a top four car.

"At the moment, I would say we are not necessarily in this range."