Andrea Stella says the result of the Hungarian Grand Prix was a pleasing one for the McLaren F1 Team, with Lando Norris securing a second consecutive second place finish last Sunday.
Norris’ result was backed up by the performance of Oscar Piastri, who raced for two-thirds of the race at the Hungaroring with damage to his floor but was still able to finish fifth.
The result sees McLaren move further clear of the BWT Alpine F1 Team for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, with Stella, the Team Principal of the Woking based team, delighted that the form they showed two weeks ago at Silverstone continued in Hungary.
“Following on from Silverstone, another strong result for our team with Lando on the podium again and Oscar finishing P5,” said Stella.
“On Oscar’s side, the first stint was very strong. In the second stint, we need to look at the impact that some car damage had, in terms of performance and interaction with the tyres, because we seem to have lost the ability to sustain tyre life over the stint.
“On Lando’s side, it was a very strong race, especially the final stint in which he kept consistency in his tyres with [Sergio] Pérez chasing hard, and he was able to bring home another trophy with another P2 finish.”
Stella insists it was important to confirm the recent updates brought to the MCL60 would work as well in hot conditions as they did in the cooler conditions at Silverstone, and to come away with another ‘best of the rest’ title was a good result for everyone at the team.
“It was important to gain this confirmation that the improvements to our car work in hot conditions, and work on tracks with low-speed corners,” Stella added. “My thanks again to all the people at McLaren who have laboured so hard to bring these upgrades trackside.
“I hope they are enjoying the moment – but only today: tomorrow we refocus and get ready for the Sprint weekend at Spa.”
