How McLaren coped with misinformation, noise and distractions as an F1 title challenger

Driving success in Formula 1 is not just about producing the fastest car, even though that is an important part of it.

Instead, to win – and especially to keep winning again and again – requires strong leadership, planning your way out of difficulties, dealing with internal and external politics and then defusing a few hand grenades thrown by other teams along the way. Is included.

As mclaren Boss Andrea Stella reflects on a remarkable 2024 campaign where his squad ended a 26-year wait for the Constructors’ Championship, admitting there were some extreme challenges beyond ensuring its MCL38 was as fast as possible Was as fast as he could.

All this added up to something it needed to learn on the fly, as it went from hunter to hunted almost overnight when its Miami upgrade pushed it to the front of the field.

Speaking to Autosport about what happened in 2024, Stella said: “We needed to somehow adjust to the fact that the team’s trajectory was almost faster than our natural way of adapting.

“Sometimes we need to learn very quickly from what happened on the track. Or sometimes outside the track, related to now being a competitive team.

“I can make the example of Monza. We were P1/P2 in Monza and somehow we did not expect this. And if I go back to before the race now, think I’ll make some adaptations.

“So the performance trajectory has somehow been so fast that we as a team have had to chase a little bit and make the necessary adaptations.”

Stella said one of the key changes that needed to be made was to increase communication, ensuring the team was clear on its objectives and how it would handle stressful moments. This meant changes to the timetable and how it was prepared for each Grand Prix.

“We have adapted the weekend program throughout the year, so that we have more conversations such as how teams have to deal with whether both drivers can win a race, or what we do in case of certain situations that have happened in the past. We were not relevant. We needed to adapt and learn very fast.”

The level of competitiveness on display in 2024, when four teams had cars capable of winning every race, also meant there was never a moment to be able to sit back and take stock.

Stella said: “It’s hard because you’re constantly in a state of discomfort.

“You can never be happy with what you’ve accomplished, and you can never be happy with how you’re doing things because, and we’ve seen this season, there were times when it seemed That McLaren was on a very strong trajectory, outdeveloping and outscoring everyone else, and then the others backed off.

“The difficult aspect of managing is that you have to constantly make sure that the team is in a position to fill a gap and raise the bar.”

noise factor

Being at the forefront puts you in the spotlight of your competitors and the media, who investigate like never before to discover the secrets of success and then get off your back when things go wrong.

And there are times when the drama appears completely unexpected – such as when McLaren found itself at the center of intrigue over the water-in-tyre cooling controversy in Brazil.

“Even if you’re familiar with racing to the top, what’s difficult is handling the noise and distractions that come internally or externally,” Stella said.

“You want to stay focused. And, to do that, you have to have a structured approach, a conscious approach, to managing the noise now that you’re the headliner.

“And sometimes, as we’ve seen with water in tires, sometimes you have to deal with misinformation, things you know don’t make sense.

“And yet they become news and they become something you can’t ignore, so you have to deal with them.

“So these are kind of new dimensions for a team that was not competing (for wins before) and certainly proved to require a lot of focus.

“Also I would say this continued acknowledgment that this is not enough.

“It would be nice to say, ‘Oh, that’s enough; This will be an easy win’! But it is not so, so you always have to change the situation and this is somehow hard to accept.

missed opportunities

Another aspect that McLaren had to deal with as it learned to deal with the new pressures of being an F1 title contender was handling the frustration at opportunities that slipped through their fingers.

As well as wasting points that went in vain, such as when she led 1–2 in the first match at Monza but was unable to convert it into a win, she also faced criticism from the outside for the way she handled things. Had to face.

It was a new experience for the team and, while Stella admits that things went wrong at times, he also thinks that even the bad calls were not a disaster.

“I look at the facts. And when I look at the facts, I can see a team that started the season in fourth place from a pecking order standpoint and then I think worked very solidly to take the lead in the championship Is.

“I don’t think you can achieve this kind of solid scoring rate if you are not strong and consistent in the way you operate and perform.

“It is true that this season we have missed some chances. For example, if we do Silverstone again, we’re going to put a set of medium tires on Lando’s car instead of using the softs.

“But still, when these opportunities weren’t taken, it wasn’t like there was a breakdown, or there was a significant result; we were on the podium.

“Even in Monza, going back, should we try a one-stop like Leclerc? Possibly. Still we were in second and third place.

“From this point of view, to some extent, I think given the attention that has been brought to McLaren’s alleged missed opportunities… I think it was simply not very analytical.

“You put all your efforts into thinking that you should have won this race. I emphasize how strong the team is. Yes, we could have won the race. Yes, but we are still in second and third place. I think we’ve seen some other massive upsets by some other competitors this season.

“And I would also like to take this opportunity, as we talk about missed opportunities, to say that the way we have dealt with all the missed opportunities has impressed me on the mentality, the culture of the team. Very proud because we definitely try to attack all opportunities in the form of learning.

more to come

While McLaren’s season was not perfect – but perfection is almost impossible in a series as competitive as F1 – Stella believes it ultimately handled things in the best way possible.

Yet, despite finishing the season on top, he does not appear to be a team that has reached its full potential.

“Whatever happens, we are limited by capacity,” he said. “We can learn a lot from this. It’s like capacity, time, resources.

“But the culture at McLaren is very strong. We always enjoy discovery, even if it leads to some missed opportunities.

“I think we’ve always done the best we could with what we were able to do at the time. Our philosophy is that the important thing is that tomorrow we will be better than today. And I can see it being implemented with great efforts.”