Stella admits McLaren were ‘a little surprised’ by Red Bull’s pace following Verstappen’s Imola triumph

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella admitted he and the team were «surprised» by the pace exhibited from Max Verstappen and Red Bull as the four-time World Champion claimed victory at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri left to settle for second and third respectively, Verstappen’s success was founded on a bold overtaking move through the Tamburello chicane to steal the lead from polesitter Piastri on the first lap.

However, after dominating the field last time out in Miami, many expected the papaya cars to reign Verstappen back in – either on track, or during the pit stops – but the McLaren duo were unable to catch the Dutchman at any stage during the race.

“I have to say today we were a little surprised, I think I have to be honest here, by the pace of Red Bull, which was very competitive,” Stella said after Sunday’s Grand Prix.

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“Well done to Max, well done to Red Bull, for being able to pull off this kind of performance, which meant that the race was very much decided by the episode, or just a swap of position between Oscar and Max in corner one. After that we tried to chase him but effectively we didn’t have enough race pace today to be able to beat Max taking the lead after lap one.”

Late on in the race it looked like Norris could have had a late chance to challenge Verstappen for the win, with the Safety Car – deployed following Kimi Antonelli’s retirement – peeling in late on to give the drivers one last race to the line. At the time Piastri was ahead of his team mate on old tyres, while Verstappen and Norris had pitted for fresh rubber.

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However, McLaren opted not to enact team orders, instead letting Norris fight past Piastri on merit – but by then Verstappen was six seconds up the road, a gap Norris could not even begin to reel in.

“We attempted to unlock various scenarios to try and beat Max, but at no stage I think we saw that we had enough race pace,» Stella added. «Even when, with the final Safety Car, Lando could pass Oscar and try to push as much as possible, pretty much Max was responding to Lando.

“So here to overtake you need seven, eight tenths of a second, so I think it’s what it is. The main factor remains the swap of position and the outcome of Lap 1.»

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As for Piastri’s strategy, which appeared to be a two-stop until the race was upended by a VSC and then Safety Car, Stella explained that the Australian’s earlier than optimal pit stop was as a result of the tyres initially not lasting as long as expected.

“At the time Oscar’s tyres were going off by a good chunk and Oscar was passing some feedback that that was the case,» Stella clarified. «It was unclear entering this event whether it would have been a one or a two. If it was a two, that was the time to go.

“And if the hard tyres had behaved just a little bit better, then the two would have been a very strong strategy, despite having to overtake some other cars. But once he went on hard tyres, actually it wasn’t much faster than Lando and Max that stayed out on the used medium.

“So, I think the hard tyres were a little less competitive than we thought, but we needed to deviate and create the condition to beat Max today. I think this is something that you can only judge in hindsight, but if you deviate, that was the time to go for a two-stop.

“So, no regrets and ultimately for the team it’s the same outcome and for Oscar it could have been the way to win and sometimes, when you take some risks to win, there may be a little bit of a downside.”

Piastri remains in the lead of the Drivers’ Championship, although his team mate has reduced that advantage from 16 to 13 points, with Verstappen a further nine adrift.