Stella reflects allegations from Verstappen and others: 'Misinformation'

When there is a fierce battle on track, a fierce battle off the track often follows as well. That was certainly the case in the 2024 season, with both Red Bull Racing and McLaren were accused of having illegal car parts. Andrea Stella responded to the false allegations around his team.

Max Verstappen is convinced that several teams certainly did do some tricks and had illegal parts on their cars. One of the most discussed parts used was McLaren's flexible rear wing that allowed the team to generate extra speed on straights.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Andrea Stella, McLaren's team principal, opened up about dealing with the extra attention that came with the Woking-based team fighting for the biggest prizes. The Italian explained that all the speculation took a lot of their extra time and attention through the year.

Stella says he found it difficult to deal with the rumours and distractions, and explains that many false claims were shared in the media. "Sometimes having to deal with misinformation, things that you know kind of don't make any sense. And yet they become news and they become something that you cannot ignore, so you have to deal with."

This aspect presented a new challenge for the McLaren team boss last season. "So these are new dimensions in a way for a team that was not competing [for wins before] and they definitely proved to be requiring a lot of attention," the Italian concluded.

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