Follow us on Google Discover Andrea Stella’s comments following the conclusion of Sprint qualifying at the United States Grand Prix show a clear realisation that McLaren have made about Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
The 2025 F1 title fight has been a two-horse race for the majority of the current campaign, but Max Verstappen has proved once again that he can’t be counted out until the final chequered flag falls in Abu Dhabi.
A once dominant constructor has looked vulnerable in recent races. They haven’t seen a papaya-adorned driver on the top step of the podium since Oscar Piastri’s rout at the Dutch Grand Prix in August.
The vulnerabilities have only been made more visible through Stella’s comments following the chequered flag at Circuit of the Americas on Friday afternoon.
READ MORE: Max Verstappen beats Lando Norris to United States Grand Prix Sprint pole as Ferrari struggle
POSITIONDRIVERTEAMTIME1Max VerstappenRed Bull1:32.1432Lando NorrisMcLaren1:32.2143Oscar PiastriMcLaren1:32.5234Nico HulkenbergSauber1:32.6455George RussellMercedes1:32.888Top five drivers in the 2025 United States Grand Prix Sprint qualifying classificationAndrea Stella thinks Max Verstappen’s pole position in the Austin Sprint ‘confirms’ Red Bull’s improvements
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 following the conclusion of the qualifying session for Saturday’s Sprint race at the United States Grand Prix, Stella was asked for his opinion on what Verstappen’s margin of 0.071s to Lando Norris was caused by.
Stella replied: “Well, I think this is actually a relatively genuine representation of the competitive field. It’s very close at the top.
“It confirms that Red Bull have definitely improved their car. They are competitive now, and can fight for victories and pole position at every kind of circuit.
“It’s also positive to see that our car here is competitive, compared to some other venues in which we struggled a little bit.
“So, I think it’s a good result. Not the result we wanted. We are here for pole positions, obviously.
“But I think it’s a good foundation for the Sprint race tomorrow, and also a good foundation to see where we can fine-tune a little bit of performance, and give it another go at a pole position tomorrow.”
Stella’s most recent comments about Red Bull show exactly how worried the Woking-based racing outfit are regarding the last-minute bid their F1 rivals have made to etch Verstappen in history as a five-time world champion.
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Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images
After tying up the constructors’ championship in the previous round of racing in Singapore, many believed that the narrative in the final races of the season would include Norris and Piastri’s hotly contested title fight at the front of the grid.
However, Stella’s comments following the conclusion of qualifying on Friday afternoon certainly don’t hold the same amount of confidence in the MCL39 as what we heard from the team principal during their dominant days in the current campaign.
Verstappen’s pole position for the Sprint marks the fourth consecutive qualifying session that a McLaren driver hasn’t taken the top spot, and it’s now clearer than ever that the Woking-based outfit are worried about what the Dutchman can do to spoil their drivers’ championship hopes.
Of course, qualifying sessions don’t win races (unless we’re in Monaco), and hold no weight whatsoever in the standings.
But the Italian’s words certainly won’t help with the confidence of McLaren fans in their team during the current climate.