Did gusty conditions hurt McLaren in Silverstone qualifying?
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella believes gusty winds played a significant role in the team's difficult qualifying performance at Silverstone, with changing conditions exposing the limitations of the MCL40 over a single lap.
While Lando Norris secured an encouraging third-place finish in Saturday's Sprint after overtaking Max Verstappen at the start and holding off George Russell, McLaren's pace faded in qualifying.
Norris could manage only sixth on the grid, while Oscar Piastri qualified eighth after struggling with rear grip throughout the session.
According to Stella, the challenging weather conditions made life particularly difficult for the drivers and ultimately favored the frontrunning Mercedes and Ferrari teams.
"Today’s Qualifying saw difficult track conditions for the drivers, with gusty wind making the conditions tricky, especially in the corners. That tended to favour the best cars like Ferrari and Mercedes, who opened the gap in Qualifying and finished at the front in today’s session."
McLaren navigated tense opening phases of qualifying before making improvements in Q3, but Stella admitted the team is currently operating behind the leading contenders.
"Our Q1 and Q2 were tense as we adapted to the conditions, and while we improved in Q3, the gap to the front is still large. Ultimately, looking at performance right now, we’re operating as the third or fourth team alongside Red Bull, and that’s broadly where we belong at the moment with the MCL40’s current package."
Despite the disappointing qualifying result, Stella believes the team's encouraging Sprint pace—particularly Norris' drive to third—offers hope heading into Sunday's British Grand Prix.
"That said, what we have seen in this morning’s Silverstone Sprint with Lando’s race pace gives us a bit more confidence that we can be more competitive over a full race tomorrow.
"Overall, we know there’s a lot of work ahead to fill the gap in order to fight the leading teams and we must keep improving the car so we can perform in all conditions."
