Stella opens up on ‘tense’ Chinese GP for McLaren

McLaren continued their strong start to the 2025 season with a 1-2 finish at the Chinese Grand Prix, but it was not all plain sailing for the reigning Teams’ Champions – as team boss Andrea Stella detailed post-race.

Not only were McLaren involved in a high-speed game of chess centred around whether drivers would pit once or twice, but Lando Norris encountered late brake troubles that threatened his P2 spot behind team mate Oscar Piastri.

MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: Why the competitive order was jumbled across the weekend in China – but Piastri shone throughout

As it transpired, Norris had enough in hand to keep George Russell at bay, having gone to battle with the Mercedes driver earlier in the race, while Piastri converted his maiden F1 pole into a statement victory.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the chequered flag had fallen at the Shanghai International Circuit, Stella opened up about the nerves on the McLaren pit wall as the 56-lap encounter developed – and those aforementioned situations played out.

Race Highlights: 2025 Chinese Grand Prix

“The race has been more tense than it might have looked,” he said. “First of all, because at the [pit] stop we lost a position with Lando to Russell, so we needed to recover the position thanks to a really great overtake by Lando. It solved the situation.

“Then it was very much about observing what the tyres would have done, but we were nervous, because we knew that there was a lot of graining. It wasn’t clear whether it would have been a two or a one [stop], if our competitors split, some going for two, some going for one, then which one do you pick?

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“Then, around 15-20 laps to the end, we started to develop a problem on the brake pedal for Lando. Lando did a very good job, together with the team, to manage through the problem, adapting the driving style such that it didn’t become a terminal problem.

“Not without some tension, we brought home a P1, P2, but it shows that it’s always very marginal and, if anything, there are opportunities to do even better.”

Stella also offered a deeper analysis of his two drivers’ respective weekends – Piastri looking supreme in Qualifying and the Grand Prix while Norris faced some car balance problems and at one point described his MCL39 as “too difficult to drive”.

Norris: ‘I really would’ve loved to have had brakes’

“I would say that last year, this was one of the worst circuits for Oscar, and it was one of the most difficult races for him,” Stella continued. “I think the performance that he has pulled off during this weekend shows how rapidly he grows, how rapidly he improves.

“The talent that we have at McLaren in our driver line-up is just incredible. When it comes to talent, on Lando’s side, in order to use his talent, he does need the car to behave in a certain way, which here, because of the tyres and because of the car to some extent, it was difficult to utilise.

“He kind of acknowledged the situation, he improved through the weekend, and today he was very strong in the race. I think without the problem on the brakes at the end, it could have been an interesting and even more tense end of the race for the papaya team.”

McLaren’s significant points tally in China keeps them at the top of the Teams’ Championship on 78 points, followed by Mercedes on 57 and Red Bull on 36, while Norris heads the Drivers’ battle on 44 points, from Max Verstappen on 36, Russell on 35 and Piastri on 34.