Stella: We did not take risks in car ride height in Vegas

Stella cancelled his media duties after the race in Vegas, and McLaren only shared a statement where they acknowledged that they made a mistake, accepting the stewards' judgement and apologizing to their drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

But ahead of this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix, Stella faced the media, including GrandPrix247, and answered a few questions.

He was quizzed on whether McLaren have identified the specific cause of their Las Vegas woes; he said: "The specific cause that led to the situation was the unexpected occurrence of extensive porpoising, inducing large vertical oscillations of the car.

"The level of porpoising was exacerbated by the conditions in which the car operated during the race, and it was not anticipated based on what we had seen in practice and based on the predictions of the car operating window in the race.

"Based on the data we had acquired in practice, we do not believe we took excessive risks in terms of ride height," Stella insisted. "We also added a safety margin for qualifying and the race, compared to practice, in terms of clearance to the ground.

"However, the safety margin was negated by the unexpected onset of the large vertical oscillations, which caused the car to touch the ground.

"The porpoising condition that the car developed in the race was also a difficult one to mitigate, as even a reduction in speed—an action that, in theory, should increase clearance to the ground—was only effective in some parts of the track but in others was actually counterproductive," he explained.

Towards the end of the race, and soon after Norris was instructed to chase Max Verstappen for the win, the Briton was advised to slow down and lift and coast, with onlookers speculating that was due to a fuel issue.

Ultimately that was not the case, and Stella was asked whether McLaren found out they were in trouble during the race in Vegas; he responded: "From the early laps of the race, it was clear from the data that the level of unexpected porpoising would be a concern.

"We were able to monitor the situation better on Lando’s car using telemetry data, but it was made more difficult on Oscar’s car after we lost one of the sensors we use to establish the level of grounding.

"We realized relatively soon that this level of porpoising was causing a high level of skid wear energy, and this is the reason why both drivers started to take remedial actions in various parts of the circuit.

"Unfortunately, we also saw that, because of the car operating window and the circuit characteristics, most of these actions were not effective enough in reducing porpoising," the Italian pointed out.

Heading into Qatar this weekend, there is an inevitable question mark around McLaren's performance and whether they would have to sacrifice it in favor of going with a more conservative setup, but Stella claimed what happened in Vegas should stay there.

He explained: "The conditions we experienced last weekend and which led to the onset of porpoising and excess of grounding, compared to what was expected, are very specific to the operating window of the car in Vegas and the circuit characteristics.

"We have a well-established and consolidated way of setting up the car, and we are confident that this will lead us to an optimal plan for the coming races, starting from the Lusail International Circuit.

"Nevertheless, we learn from every lesson, and the one in Las Vegas has been able to provide some useful information about the operating window of the car and the porpoising regime," he maintained.

And whether McLaren will change their approach in setting up the car, Stella said: "What happened in Vegas was due to an anomaly in the behavior of the car, rather than it being the outcome of an excessive or unreasonable chase of performance.

"Our way of acting and thinking as a team, with a strong focus on performance, has brought us to where we are today, namely winning two consecutive Constructors' Titles and having two drivers at the top of the Championship with two races to go.

"We, as a Team, constantly learn from experience, and we calibrate our approach all the time, and we will
certainly use any information gained through the situation experienced in Vegas," he reiterated.

Another valid question would be about the morale within McLaren. Stella commented: "Walking around the factory this week, I was particularly impressed by how deep and strong the cultural foundation of the team was.

"The reaction has been entirely focused on picking up the learning, dismissing any negativity, and making sure we come out stronger from this kind of situation. I was very glad to see how the Team has become a mature group of united and forward-thinking racers.

"Episodes like this make you grow," the McLaren boss went on. "They are painful; there is no point in hiding it, but pain is also part of our sport.

"There is no blame culture at McLaren, but rather a culture of constant progress and growth," he insisted.

With two race weekends remaining, Verstappen is breathing down the necks of Piastri and Norris, and with the latter still leading the 2025 Formula 1 Drivers' Championship, shouldn't McLaren finally throw out their Papaya Rules and apply team orders?

"No, there is no reason to do so," Stella stated. "We have always said that as long as the maths does not say otherwise, we would leave it up to the two drivers to fight for their chance at the final victory, and that is how it will be in Qatar.

"Let’s not forget that if someone had told us at the start of the season that we would find ourselves in this situation with two races to go, we would have signed up for it!

"Now we are going to fight for the double World Championship with confidence and awareness of our strength," Stella concluded. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)