McLaren "knew it was going to be more challenging for us," claims Stella
Having failed to secure pole position at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella admitted that the Woking-based outfit "knew was going to be more challenging for us."
McLaren displayed strong pace in final practice, but the papaya outfit seemed to struggle a bit in qualifying - at least to their standards.
However, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri put in a great effort on their final lap in Q3 to end up second and third quickest.
Reflecting on McLaren's qualifying day at Monza, team boss Andrea Stella added: "Today’s tight Qualifying result was not unexpected considering the level of competition we expect in Formula 1.
"At the same time, P2 and P3 are good starting positions for tomorrow at a circuit we knew was going to be more challenging for us.
"It was not the most comfortable Qualifying session. In Q2, we needed the last lap for Lando to make it into Q3, which shows the impact of a small mistake in Formula 1 at the moment.
"Historically, Monza often produces an exciting race for the fans, with many factors at play. We are in a good position and we are confident we can make progress to maximise the result for the team.”
