Red Bull will be worried by the ‘big’ statement McLaren chief Andrea Stella just made after missing out on Imola win

Max Verstappen’s victory in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is a reminder, if you ever needed one, that he is still in the hunt for the Drivers’ Championship.

The Dutchman’s win will have come as a surprise to McLaren, not least because they had already done the difficult work in qualifying.

Oscar Piastri earned pole off the back of three races in a row and was on course to match a record previously held by Ayrton Senna, with four victories in a row at McLaren.

But he was denied when Verstappen pulled off an audacious move around the outside of Tamburello corner, the very site where Senna was killed in 1994. Verstappen overtook Piastri with a move that was akin to the one he was previously penalised for in Saudi Arabia, only this time he made it stick.

Red Bull would go on to surprise McLaren with their race pace, with Verstappen pulling a near 10-second gap on both Piastri and Lando Norris at different points of the race.

The Milton Keynes outfit has every right to come away from Imola feeling confident about closing the gap in the European swing of races, but McLaren team principal Andrea Stella made a statement that might worry them when speaking to the media after the race.

Andrea Stella warns McLaren’s ‘time will come’ with updates planned

Red Bull brought minor upgrades to their car in Imola in a bid to rectify the car problems they have faced since the start of the season.

On the face of it, Red Bull appears to have improved their race pace, but Italian journalist Roberto Chinchero has revealed one statement made by Stella that might worry the Milton Keynes squad when speaking on the Motorsport.com Italy podcast.

“From a technical point of view, he [Stella] did say something big. Because in McLaren’s ideal conditions, Red Bull has shown they are capable of winning, which changes the scenario in the Drivers’ Championship,” said Chinchero.

“But while we talking to Andrea Stella after the race, he said something important. He said: ‘So far it has been our opponents who have brought about many developments, our time will come too’.”

Max Verstappen compared to Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna

Verstappen’s drive in Imola was compared to Senna by Jacques Villeneuve, who felt that he showed how he is able to outdrive his rivals with his victory.

Peter Windsor also felt that Verstappen’s move on Piastri echoed the overtake Nigel Mansell pulled on Nelson Piquet, to win the 1987 British Grand Prix for Williams.

The drive was certainly one that will serve as a warning shot to McLaren, who will need to ensure they are maximising every opportunity each race weekend.

McLaren will be hopeful that the upcoming changes to the front wing tests for the Spanish GP will not impact them, while also bringing more performance to maintain their advantage in the races.