Stella: Miami Grand Prix was an "exceptional result for McLaren"

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella labelled McLaren's performance at the Miami Grand Prix as "an exceptional result", praised the hard work of the Woking-based factory which have designed "a phenomenal car."

McLaren struggled to beat their rivals over a single qualifying lap, but their MCL39 came alive in race trim, showing truly dominant performance.

Lando Norris got a great start on Sunday and was challenging Verstappen into the first couple of corners, but the Dutchman defended his lead hard, and the Briton was forced to run wide at Turn 2, losing four places and dropping back to sixth.

However, he managed to quickly regain the places he lost at the start, albeit he needed to fight hard against Verstappen, who was eager to hold onto his position.

By the time he picked off Verstappen, Oscar Piastri had built a huge gap and was imperious. Although Norris was constantly closing the gap to his team-mate in the remainder of the race, Piastri’s lead proved too big an advantage to overhaul.

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella labelled McLaren's performance at the Miami Grand Prix as "an exceptional result", putting the result down to the work of the factory which have designed "a phenomenal car."

“Today was an exceptional result for McLaren at the end of a remarkable weekend. First and second yesterday in the Sprint, followed by first and second again today in the Miami Grand Prix, which is a first for any team in a Sprint weekend.

"It’s a big haul of points, and we’re mindful that tomorrow is the anniversary of our first victory of this era, which was a fundamental milestone in the direction and development of our team.

“Not for the first time this year, I would like to thank the people at McLaren who have designed, manufactured, built and are racing this phenomenal car, as well as our technical and commercial partners, and fans who are with us on this exciting journey.

Although McLaren did not look dominant in qualifying trim, the MCL39 displayed truly outstanding performance in race conditions.

“After a very tight Qualifying session, it was great to see the car performing so well during the race, allowing Oscar and Lando to dominate. Oscar was clinical and very precise, taking the opportunities that came his way and displaying excellent pace.

"Lando was delayed in the mêlée at the start, recovering from sixth and then overtaking Max Verstappen later in the stint, but without this he was in strong contention for the win also.

“This is a great foundation for the rest of the year, but we also know that maybe these were exceptional circumstances. We’ll keep our feet on the ground, keep working on the MCL39 to improve it, and see where it takes us now the racing season moves back to Europe.”