Andrea Stella: “Ferrari is not ahead” / Formula 1

After the Suzuka race, the McLaren team is in third place in the team table. The Ferrari team, which has a knockout score of 51 World Championship points, is ahead of the traditional racing team from Woking. McLaren team boss Andrea Stella is confident his team can close the gap on the world’s oldest GP racing team.

The engineer says on the “F1 Nation” podcast: “I think we’re going to see a development battle this year because these cars still have a lot of potential that can be used. And that’s exactly what we focused on.” And about Ferrari, he says: “I would say Ferrari is not far ahead. It is a good thing that they are only ten times faster than us.”

“On a track like this here at Suzuka, where the tires are very low and overtaking is very easy to a certain extent, it is difficult to put a fast car behind you, even if you were strong in qualifying, as was the case with us. That is why the results show the balance the current of power,” explained the Italian.

And Stella also revealed: “We hoped to finish on the podium in Japan, but during the race we realized that it was not possible. But I hope that soon we will bring a few more developments to the car that will help us achieve this goal. We will have several updates in Miami. Even if it is an event of run, we’re trying to keep them on track there. Over the course of the season we’ll improve at least once, if not twice.”

Japan-GP, Suzuka Circuit

01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:54:23,566 h
02. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, +12.535 seconds
03. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, +20,866
04. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, +26,522
05. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, +29.700
06. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, +44,272
07. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, +45,951
08. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, +47.525
09. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, +48,626
10. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Bulls Racing, +1 Round
11. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, +1 lap
12. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, +1 Round
13. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, +1 Lap
14. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), clean, +1 lap
15. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, +1 Round
16. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, +1 Round
17. Logan Sargeant (USA), Williams, +1 Round
outside
Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, Elektrik
Alex Albon (T), Williams, Crash
Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Racing Bull, Crash

World Championship Standings (after 4 out of 24 Grands Prix)

the driver
01. Verstappen 77 points
02. Perez 64
03. Leclerc 59
04. Sainz 55
05. Norris 37
06. Plate 32
07. Russell 24
08. Alonso 24
09. Hamilton 10
10. Walk 7
11. Tsunoda 7
12. Oliver Bearman (GB) 6
13. Hulkenberg 3
14. Magnussen 1
15. Alboni 0
16. Zhou 0
17. Ricciardo 0
18. Okon 0
19. 0 gas
20. Bota 0
21. Sergeant 0

Builders Cup
01. Red Bull Racing 141 Punkte
02. Ferrari 120
03. McLaren 69
04. Mercedes 34
05. Aston Martin 33
06. Running Bull 7
07. Especially 4
08. Williams 0
09. Sauber 0
10. Alpine