Stella grateful for progress but concedes ‘execution and optimisation’ cost McLaren victory in Miami

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella conceded that Lando Norris could have won the Miami Grand Prix if not for “a matter of execution and optimisation” in the reigning World Champions’ pit stop strategy.

Like many of their rivals, McLaren introduced an extensive upgrade package when F1 returned following a five-week break. Stella previously stated that they would have a "completely new car" in Miami, and it certainly showed positive signs of bringing an end to their unsteady start to the season.

They hit the ground running as Norris secured pole position for the Sprint, which he confidently converted into his first win of 2026 while team mate Oscar Piastri gained a position to bring home a 1-2 finish for the Woking-based outfit.

Their one-lap pace faded in Saturday’s Qualifying session as Mercedes rediscovered their usual form at the hands of Kimi Antonelli, but the McLaren pair bounced back to take P2 and P3 in the Miami Grand Prix, with Norris coming tantalisingly close to seizing another victory.

Asked about his thoughts on the competitive order following the race, Stella replied: “I think because of the upgrades that a large number of teams have delivered here, in Miami we have seen some changes to the competitive picture. Definitely we have seen McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull closing the gap.

“I think Mercedes still possess a couple of tenths advantage over anybody else. I think this was most noticeable today in the race and yesterday. I think in the Sprint, for some reason Mercedes didn't express their full potential and it looked like the other people made bigger than expected upgrades. In reality, I think it was just Mercedes not optimising their potential.

“I think what we have seen is that in the race, if anything, McLaren seemed to have retained from last year the characteristic of being consistent on the tyres, probably a little bit more than some of our competitors, while I think the main advantage of Mercedes on us is pure pace. I think their car is just a couple of tenths faster than our car.

“This means that when things are so close, and when you have four teams in such a tight competition, execution, adaptation, optimisation, they can become the decisive factor. And while we have had a very positive weekend, I think today in the race we might have lost the possibility to win it, again for a matter of execution and optimisation of what was available.

"We were fighting a faster car than us, but perhaps if we had kept Lando in the lead, we could have led it to the finish.”

McLaren opted to pit Norris one lap later than Antonelli, which allowed the Mercedes driver to successfully pull off the undercut and maintain position over Norris. Stella admitted that as the Silver Arrows still possessed a speed advantage, the decision had a knock-on effect on the Briton’s chances of winning.

“We feel extremely satisfied with the weekend, very encouraged, not only because in a single weekend we scored more points than the three previous races, but also because of the trend that we have established,” Stella said. “We know that we have some more upgrades coming, which are kind of coming from the same group, so we are optimistic that they may allow us to take some further steps forward.

“At the same time, in addition to this positive general picture, if we go into the specifics of the race, when you are in the lead and you are in a condition to retain the lead, like Lando was today in the first stint, then you definitely have a chance to win it.

“I think the timing of the pit stop was the decisive factor, but at the same time we should be careful that we don't only see it from a strategic point of view because you have the timing of the pit stop, which is a strategic element, but then we lost time in pit lane, for instance, which is an execution aspect.

“It is always a team element, and as a team we have done a great job in making McLaren competitive again for the win. As a team, probably today we didn't capitalise, but we shouldn't forget that we were competing with a faster car than us.”