McLaren highlights key Ferrari strength that made Hamilton's Barcelona win possible

Lewis Hamilton won the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix last Sunday, marking his first victory in Ferrari red. It was also Scuderia's first win since Carlos Sainz crossed the line first at the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix.

Evaluating last Sunday's race, McLaren's Stella explained where Ferrari stood out in his opinion. Speaking to GPblog, among others, he began:"I think this race gives us very clear indications. I think these indications, in a way, they are consistent with what we knew already. I think there are indications are that. Ferrari at the moment is the car with the best chassis. We see in the middle sector, especially in the medium-speed corners, that Ferrari is the fastest in the corners, not necessarily the fastest in the straights."

After Kimi Antonelli's sudden, but costly car issue in Barcelona, Lando Norris was promoted to the final spot on the podium on Sunday. Stella also discussed where his team needs to add performance to the MCL40.

He continued: "We see that from a McLaren point of view, we are competitive in the high-speed corners, like Turns 3, 9, corner 14, but overall we struggle with grip in medium-speed and low-speed corners. Very clear indications, as we knew already, that we have to add grip to the car of an aerodynamic nature, so add load onto the tyres, and then we also have to improve the way we interact with the tyres in terms of qualifying preparation for what comes to the first corner, for instance.

"We see that often in qualifying, and we lose time at the start, but then in conditions like this, in the race, we would like to reduce tyre degradation. So, quite a clear agenda from a performance point of view. We need to add aerodynamic performance, we need to add solutions for a better tyre exploitation," the Italian team boss concluded.

On Saturday in Barcelona, Stella said that they should explore possibilities with Leonardo Fornaroli in F1, instead of looking at other options, after the 2025 Formula 2 champion's promising first FP1 outing in the competition.

On Tuesday, it was also announced that Fornaroli is set for a test with the Haas F1 team in Spain. The statement wrote: "TGR Haas F1 Team has the capacity to test and appraise drivers through its TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) program. Leonardo Fornaroli, the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Champion, has subsequently been offered the opportunity to drive its VF-25 at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, Spain, 17-18 June, with TGR Haas F1 Team reserve driver Ryō Hirakawa also in attendance at the test.”