Andrea Stella believes the Drivers' title is still McLaren's to lose. Photo: RacePictures.

Unwavering Stella calls on McLaren to be ready for Verstappen’s charge

21:20, 21 Oct

Updated: 22:09, 21 Oct

byNorberto Mujica

McLaren Team boss Andrea Stella warns Drivers’ Championship remains in McLaren’s hands despite Max Verstappen's and Red Bull's late charge.

The outcome of this season and the Drivers’ Championship is in our hands, it’s not in someone else’s hands.

- Andrea Stella.

Andrea Stella drew encouragement from the pace shown by Lando Norris in Texas, and despite Max Verstappen taking the win, the McLaren team boss is convinced the championship remains his team’s to lose.

The championship leader Oscar Piastri has seen his lead cut by 64 points over the last four rounds, while Norris’ gap to the Red Bull driver has also been dramatically reduced to 26.

Reflecting on the race, with Norris held up most of the time behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Piastri stranded in no man's land fighting to stay ahead of George Russell in the grey battle for P5, Stella was reassured by the fact that Norris could have challenged Verstappen for victory at COTA.

Andrea Stella on the pit wall- Photo: Race Pictures

He told GPblog: “Today is a relatively reassuring race because I think without having to fight with Charles, which was certainly an entertaining fight itself, I think Lando had the pace to win the race today.

“Obviously, he needed to gain the position on track, which is never easy with Max, and with a one-stop strategy, not necessarily would we have had many opportunities from a strategic point of view. But performance-wise, I think we are reassured that the pace was sufficient to fight for the victory.”

Acknowledging the threat Verstappen poses to the team’s Drivers’ Championship hopes, Stella argued McLaren would remain unmoved by the reigning F1 champion’s charge.

Max Verstappen took a dominant victory in Austin - Photo: Marco Miltenburg, RacePictures

He continued: “I said very clearly in capital letters that Max was in the contest for the Drivers’ Championship, and when I say something, I mean it.

“For me, there’s no mystery. We know that when Max has the material to win, he becomes a very serious candidate to win. So it doesn’t change what our understanding of the situation is, it doesn’t change what we do.

“We just have to keep maximising the performance and keep executing good weekends… The outcome of this season and the Drivers’ Championship is in our hands, it’s not in someone else’s hands. That’s the mindset that we want to have and that’s the mindset that we will have,” he concluded.

Stella issues warning to Norris and Piastri

The Italian engineer believes that McLaren’s pace has been sufficient in recent rounds to achieve better results, and he argues that any shortcomings lie with the drivers themselves.

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