Andrea Stella issues upgrade assessment after Lando Norris leads McLaren Miami sprint 1-2

TL;DR

McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri achieved a 1-2 finish in the Miami sprint race, prompting team principal Andrea Stella to assess the impact of recent upgrades. Stella expressed cautious optimism about the car's performance and its characteristics during long runs.

Key points

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished 1-2 in the Miami sprint race
Andrea Stella assessed the team's recent upgrades
McLaren's car showed good characteristics in long runs
The team worked on extensive upgrades during a five-week break
The grid remains very close in competition

McLarenLando NorrisOscar Piastri

Motorsport photo

McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andrea Stella seemed cautiously optimistic about the team's upgrades after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri secured a 1-2 finish in the Miami sprint race.

The Woking outfit turned up to the Miami Grand Prix weekend with an almost new car after working on extensive upgrades during the five-week break in April.

After Norris and Piastri finished with a strong 1-2 finish in the sprint race, Stella was pleased to see that the car continued to show "good characteristics from a degradation point of view" in long runs, but explained that the grid is still "very close".

"It's good to bring upgrades so that we can become more and more competitive," Stella told Sky Sports F1. "It was important to confirm that the upgrades work like we've seen yesterday over a single lap. Today, it was important to see them in long runs and even hot conditions.

"So nobody knew exactly what the degradation would have been, but it looks like the car has retained the good characteristics from a degradation point of view.

"So good indications so far, but everyone is very close. I think Lando might have benefited from being the lead car, in clean air, possibly whoever was the first today could have won the sprint.