Andrea Stella: It's inappropriate to talk about domination

      McLaren team principal Andrea Stella in Bahrain spoke about the start of the season, his drivers and the degree of risk...

      Question: McLaren had a great start to the season, how do you assess your advantage over the other teams now?Andrea Stella: The MCL39 is a competitive car. It's faster than last year's one, which was already fast and reliable. We used a bold, innovative approach, largely redesigning all the components of the machine. I am grateful to all the McLaren employees who turned our goals into a real car.

      The results are very dense, our advantage is minimal. In China, the little things decided everything in qualifying, in Japan they beat us. You need to stay realistic when evaluating your form. It's inappropriate to talk about dominance.

      There is no dominance, and this topic is regularly thrown at journalists by our rivals. The rules of this game are well known – to put pressure on competitors. But we don't allow ourselves to be distracted by such thoughts. We are calm and we know that we have to work hard to achieve more from the MCL39.

      Q: Can we say that the defeat in Suzuka woke up the team? Or was it just a combination of circumstances that led to Verstappen's victory?Andrea Stella: We didn't need to be woken up. We didn't sleep, and we knew perfectly well that if we didn't get the most out of the car, we'd be left behind. All that matters to us is what we talk about within the team. Everything that is discussed in the press comes from the outside.

      Question: Some of your rivals believe that you have no equal in Bahrain. How confident are you in your abilities before this race?Andrea Stella: That's an interesting statement. I think Bahrain is the most difficult stage for McLaren in the first part of the season. We weren't the fastest in the tests here.

      Our only advantage is to work with the rubber more carefully, we couldn't use it in Suzuka because the wear is already small there, but here the tires wear out quickly and our strength can help. But to turn this advantage into a result, you need to perform well in qualifying and not get stuck in traffic during the race.

      Question: Speaking of qualifications. Lando used to be faster than his teammate, but last year the score was 21:3 in his favor. Has the Oscar gone up this year?Andrea Stella: Yes, Oscar feels much more confident now. He is better able to collect the top three sectors in one lap. This is a consequence of the accumulated experience and the analysis carried out in the winter. As a result, Oscar has become stronger, and Lando is traditionally strong in qualifying.

      If we return to the topic of McLaren's competitiveness, then one of its key factors is the competition of our drivers, who, on the one hand, motivate each other to achieve more, on the other, act together in the interests of the team. So for me, at least that's how I see it, that's the main difference from last season.

      Question: Is it true that Lando is not quite comfortable in the car? What exactly are his problems related to?Andrea Stella: Yes, it is. In a certain phase of piloting the car, Lando does not feel comfortable. And we understand what this is about.

      It would be inappropriate to go into details, but for this race we have made adjustments, returned to some solutions that will make the behavior of the car more suitable for the characteristics of Lando's driving style. I wonder how much it will work. We're going to have an interesting weekend.

      Q: Lando said on Thursday that he is ready to use a more risky strategy for a better result. Do you follow a conservative approach for the sake of a global goal?Andrea Stella: Using Suzuki as an example, I don't think we would have chosen any other strategy if the race had been held in a different phase of the season. Unless it was the last stage and all positions in the individual competition and the Constructors' Championship would have already been determined. Then it would be possible to use the most aggressive strategy in the fight for victory, since we did not lose anything.

      Obviously, this approach is inappropriate at the beginning of the season. In a particular race, the risks would be too great, and the start of the season factor was important. We don't have a lot of points to risk.

      Question: You talked about how good it is for the team when the riders motivate each other. But are you thinking about the moment when you will have to sacrifice the interests of one of them in order to increase the chances of the other?Andrea Stella: I cannot rule out such a development. As I said, a team becomes stronger when it has two extremely competitive drivers. This allows you to set the highest goals, including long-term advantage. But from time to time, situations may arise that can upset one of the two riders a little, because as events unfold on the track, the team has to make decisions.

      Everyone in the team is aware of our position. We don't say “if it happens,” we say “when it happens.” We have a very complicated business. Everyone in the team understands this, including Lando and Oscar.