Andrea Stella reckons McLaren will face more of a test from their rivals across the final 10 rounds of the 2025 Formula 1 campaign, and Ferrari in particular, following his team\u2019s imperious run in the opening half of the year.<\/p>\n
McLaren have been the class of the field so far this season, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris racking up 11 Grand Prix wins between them \u2013 the other victories going to Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen (two) and Mercedes racer George Russell (one).<\/p>\n
However, McLaren boss Stella is expecting a stiffer challenge after the summer break, with Ferrari\u2019s recent upgrades<\/a> appearing to pay off and Mercedes finding some form after scrapping a problematic rear suspension development<\/a>.<\/p>\n In an unusual end to Qualifying in Hungary last time out, under dark clouds and with temperatures dropping, Charles Leclerc scored his and Ferrari\u2019s first Grand Prix pole position of 2025 \u2013 and he went on to lead the first stint of the race before car problems took over<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not surprised, because Ferrari have been competitive over the last few races,\u201d Stella said of Leclerc and Ferrari\u2019s pace at the Hungaroring. \u201cThey were competitive in the dry in Silverstone, they were competitive in Belgium. Somehow, this wasn\u2019t expressed fully.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we saw [in Qualifying] that they were in condition to score the pole position, and [in the race], it\u2019s not like in the first stint we were holding back. We were trying to go as fast as possible, and Leclerc was managing the lead of the race with some degree of control.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cI think Ferrari [are] going to be a contender for victories for the remainder of the season. Definitely, anytime we [are] racing for the second part of the season, we would have to take into account that in Qualifying and in the race, we would have to deal with Ferrari.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would [also] have to deal with Mercedes, and [at the Hungarian Grand Prix] Max was a bit out of contention, but Max, I\u2019m sure, will find a way to fight for victories.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, there\u2019s nothing obvious in this business. This is exactly what we said in our briefing after Qualifying [in Hungary], and this is what we will keep repeating [to] ourselves in the second part of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n Nonetheless, McLaren are very much in control of the Teams\u2019 Championship<\/a> after 14 of 24 scheduled rounds \u2013 the Woking-based squad boasting more than double the points of second-placed Ferrari.<\/p>\n