Stella claims that "Mercedes and Ferrari are currently more competitive than us"
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella described the first phase of testing as both productive and revealing, offering a candid assessment of where McLaren stands and where it must improve ahead of next week’s second test.
McLaren wrapped up the opening three‑day Bahrain Pre‑Season Test with a substantial amount of data, as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri combined for 422 laps and 2,283.864 km of running.
Stella opened his reflection by highlighting the team’s impressive reliability and workload across the three days.
“Today concludes a constructive and productive first phase of Pre-Season Testing in Bahrain with a total of 2,283.864km completed by Lando and Oscar across the last three days. This is very encouraging to see with lots of key learnings to take away.”
The team’s ability to run consistently allowed engineers to gather a broad range of data, from aerodynamic behaviour to long‑run performance. Despite the positive mileage, Stella was clear‑eyed about McLaren’s current position relative to its rivals.
He noted that “while it is still difficult to accurately identify the order of performance, it is clear that Mercedes and Ferrari are currently more competitive than us. We have some work to do to find performance ahead of the second test next week and the first race in Melbourne.”
The race simulations completed by both drivers also offered insight into how the car behaves in traffic and under race‑like conditions. Stella acknowledged that the team still has work to do — both internally and in collaboration with the sport as a whole.
“There are some areas we need to work on, both as a team and as a sport, but we leave the first test with a better understanding of these requirements.”
This balanced perspective reflects McLaren’s methodical approach to development. Stella closed his reflection by thanking the McLaren workforce, both trackside and at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking.
“Finally, thanks go to the team for their hard work and dedication to get us to this point. There is still a significant amount of work to do, but each lap we complete gives us additional learning, and that isn’t possible without the hard work of the team both here in Bahrain and back in Woking. We look forward to heading back out on track next week.”
