Stella calls for more McLaren "intensity" after Ferrari and Red Bull upgrades

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualified in sixth and seventh places respectively for the Austrian Grand Prix, around four tenths off the pace set by polesitter George Russell, with Kimi Antonelli, the two Ferraris and Max Verstappen also ahead of the McLaren pair.

Since challenging for wins in both Japan and Miami, McLaren have lost ground on their competitors in terms of the developmental battle. The reigning champions have upgrades in the pipeline but Stella says McLaren need to out-develop their competitors and do this by showing "more intensity".

In response to a question by GPblog, Stella said that the "competitiveness pattern" of 2026 shows that Mercedes is the fastest car, with the upgrades making the difference in the three cars that follow - Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.

Stella added that internally McLaren directors have spoken about "three months of development" that needs catching up. "There's only one way of doing this which is to out-develop (our) competitors. We need to rev our engine higher. We need to have more intensity in the business. We need to be good at delivering effective solutions.