McLaren claim "Ferrari has clearly made significant performance gains"

Despite having collected a good haul of points at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella insisted that "Ferrari has clearly made significant performance gains."

Norris came close to snatching third at the start, drawing almost level with Antonelli before having to back out and settle into fourth. From there, he never lost touch with the leading trio and later mounted a renewed challenge on the Mercedes ahead.

His tyres faded in the closing laps of the 66-lap Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, but Antonelli’s sudden power‑unit failure promoted him to the podium — a deserved reward for a clean, controlled drive.

Piastri’s race was more complicated. The Australian struggled for grip from the opening laps, losing out to Charles Leclerc early and never finding the pace he needed on the hard tyres. He finished fifth, behind Max Verstappen, in a race defined more by damage limitation than opportunity.

Piastri summarised the afternoon bluntly: “A tricky day for us. We just struggled with grip and pace throughout the race, so we weren’t able to make any progress. The conditions today were also very different to Friday, where we felt a bit stronger. We need to do some work to understand why we found it so difficult.”

Even so, he pointed to Norris’s performance as evidence that McLaren’s package still has potential: “However, it is encouraging to see that on Lando’s side, we were able to be in the fight with Mercedes.

"The team were strong on pit stops, we had good reliability and we maximised what we could in other places. We'll review, take the learnings, and see what we can do going into Austria.”

Team Principal Andrea Stella echoed that duality: clear progress, but also clear limitations: “We saw a definite step forward today in our ability to compete with the front‑runners, which is encouraging after the difficulties we faced in the last couple of races.

"It’s good news that we were able to stay with Mercedes, and we can take positives from our improved reliability this weekend.”

But he also acknowledged Ferrari’s surge: “However, Ferrari has clearly made significant performance gains, with recent upgrades now positioning them as race winners. Therefore, as competitors, we know there is more to do.”

“Our analysis is very clear: we are reasonably competitive in the high‑speed sections but need to add aerodynamic grip to improve in the medium‑ and low‑speed corners, where we are currently losing out.”

Tyre management, he said, was the decisive factor in the race: “Today, the key differentiator in the race came down to tyre management. The way the car and driver interact with the tyres over a long stint is an area we must investigate and improve upon.”

He also suggested that strategy may have cost them: “Reviewing strategy is also an area to highlight as the three‑stop option may have been the better route. However, ultimately Lewis Hamilton looked the strongest on the day with Ferrari in condition to contest at the front regardless.”

Looking ahead, Stella emphasised internal focus and continued development: “Our focus is entirely internal at the moment: we have a clear development path to add performance to the car and will continue to bring upgrades.

"We need to maintain these high standards and concentrate on our own trajectory, making sure we improve race by race to close the gap to the leaders.”

“The team both trackside and in Woking have worked extremely hard over the last two race weekends while experiencing the range of ups and downs this sport presents.

"I'm proud of everyone’s commitment and resilience to work together in the McLaren way. We will now review the double‑header before moving forward with our focus on the Austrian Grand Prix.”