Stella: 18-inch Pirelli tyres hampered McLaren's progress in 2022

The 2022 Formula 1 season did not go as hoped for McLaren. According to the British team's new team boss Andrea Stella, this was partly due to the fact that the team struggled to adapt to Pirelli's new 18-inch tyres.

The switch to the new Pirelli tyres was an important part of the revised regulations F1 introduced in 2022. The importance of the tyres and how they were handled was evident during races and on several occasions played a crucial role in the outcome of Grands Prix.

Stella, who succeeds Andreas Seidl, admits that McLaren was less effective in 'softening' the impact of the new tyres than rival teams. This was mainly noticeable on the front tyres, which Stella said caused "relatively sharp behaviour of the car".

McLaren struggled with new Pirelli tyres

At the same time, however, the new McLaren team boss acknowledges that this is the same for all teams. "On top of the tyres, you add the car characteristics that kind of mitigate the underlying fundamental behaviour of the tyres," the Italian told Motorsport.com. 

Stella says that the MCL36 certainly had aspects that did not properly mitigate the underlying behaviour of the tyres, but also states that there was a role for the drivers in this as well. "We have seen in this couple of years that certainly for Daniel, the window in which he is comfortable, is slightly narrower than Lando, let's say," he continued.

That, according to McLaren's new team boss, contributed to Daniel Ricciardo often underperforming. When tyres and the necessary softening elements played a lesser role, the Australian had less trouble with the car, according to Stella.