Stella admits 'some complex aspects' affect McLaren during qualifying, but tyres are not one of them

The British team have made the most of their dominant winter testing in Bahrain to make a fantastic start to the 2025 Formula 1 season, winning five out of the first six races of the season.

As a result, McLaren have collected 246 points, sitting 105 points ahead of Mercedes in P2, while Oscar Piastri, who has taken four out of McLaren's five wins, sits on 131 points at the top of the drivers' championship, 16 points ahead of teammate Lando Norris.

However, it has been a totally perfect season so far for the papaya-coloured team, with the MCL39 car struggling with some of its one-lap pace in qualifying, with Norris saying he is "not getting the most out of his car" as a result of those struggles.

The question was posed to Stella as to whether the tyres were the issue with McLaren's one-lap pace, resulting in some disappointing Q3 results. However, the Italian shunned that idea quickly.  

"No, I don't think this is an issue," the McLaren team boss started by saying to several media sources in the Miami paddock, including GPblog.

"I think we know that, when it comes to driving the car at the limit, there are some other aspects of the car that we have evolved onto the MCL39 that may have affected the drivability of the car," continued the 54-year-old.

The worry for McLaren is that the issues that have may be a bit more complex then they would like.

"It's not like we open a qualifying lap and we feel like, ‘Oh, the tyres are cold, or the tyres are difficult.’ The tyres are good. It's not the classical situation where we have cars that struggle in qualifying, and then they are great in the race. I think, from a technical point of view, it's slightly more complex," concluded Stella.