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First and fourth in Azerbaijan for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris saw the squad move into the lead of the teams’ championship over Red Bull Racing.
It’s the first time in a decade the Woking squad has headed the competition, having last won it in 1998.
After a somewhat slow start to the year, McLaren has been the form team, arguably since the Miami Grand Prix.
That has seen it claw back a 115-point deficit to Red Bull Racing, transforming it into a 20-point advantage with seven races remaining in the season.
“If I looked at it for a second as a milestone, then it’s definitely huge,” Stella said.
“We don’t have to forget that at the start of 2023, we were last when we started the season, and now we lead the classification.
“That’s a huge milestone that has been possible thanks to great work, the hard work, and the quality of the work of the entire team.”
McLaren’s fortunes have improved sharply since Stella took the helm at the start of last season.
Having inherited a car that missed its development targets, the Italian restructured the squad’s technical department.
Upgrades mid-season were transformative with the squad a podium contender from the Austrian Grand Prix.
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At this year’s Miami Grand Prix, Norris secured his first F1 win, while Piastri scored his at Hungary.
There was another wins in Zandvoort for Norris, and Piastri’s stunning performance around the streets of Baku a week ago.
It’s left the team with a problem; two competitive drivers mathematically still in the hunt for the championship, but with a significant deficit to points leader Max Verstappen.
In response, Stella introduced ‘Papaya rules’, essentially the way the McLaren pair are allowed to race each other, noting the team’s ambitions remain the priority. It’s a point the team boss is strong on.
More latterly, McLaren has confirmed it will “bias” its decisions in favour of Norris, since he has the better odds of reeling in the Dutchman, despite Piastri having outscored him across the last 11 races.
McLaren remains a firm favourite every weekend, but the competition is close and for that reason Stella is taking nothing for granted.
“We just focus on executing at every single event, delivering the upgrades that we still plan to take to some of the future races,” he said.
“The car, as a matter of fact, is still not fast enough to create some boring races.
“[It’s] not in the interest of Formula 1, but is definitely the way in which we want to go racing.
“We have work to do in terms of making the car faster.
“And we need to remain humble and we need to keep the feet on the ground.
“There’s not been much to pick at all between the top four teams; McLaren is the best car in some kinds of circuits, like Barcelona, Hungary, Zandvoort, for good technical reasons,” he added.
“McLaren did not enjoy any advantage over Ferrari [in Azerbaijan] and I think not even over Red Bull.
“Execution by the drivers and the execution by the team is just what makes the difference.”
