McLaren’s Andrea Stella: “This time away from the track has actually been very busy”

Whilst admitting the result in Australia at the beginning of April was positive for the McLaren F1 Team, Team Principal Andrea Stella knows the team still has a long way to go with its pace and performance of its MCL60 as they turn their attention to this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri scored their first points of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season at Albert Park by finishing sixth and eighth, but the result was mainly down to staying out of trouble rather than having the outright pace to score.

Stella says the team have been using the break since Australia to work on developing the MCL60 in a bid to close the gap to those towards the front of the field, and they will be bringing some updates to the Baku City Circuit, the first step of many planned across the upcoming events.

“We come to Baku following a solid result in Australia, a short period away from track to refocus and with good spirits in the team so we’re ready to go again for the first double-header of the season,” said Stella.  

“Whilst the result in Australia was positive, we know we’ve still got a lot of work to do and this time away from the track has actually been very busy at the factory.

“We also bring some new components to the MCL60. Although, we recognise that in Baku we may not immediately see most of the benefits of these new spec parts, this is just one of many steps in a wider plan to push us forward in the Constructors’ Championship.”

Stella says there is excitement within the team for the first sprint weekend of the season in Azerbaijan, and they are keen to maximise their potential and add to their points tally.

“The team are also looking forward to the first weekend of the new Sprint format,” Stella added.  “At any street circuit, there is always more risk associated with events like this, but the team have prepared well and we look forward to going back to racing.”