There is no fabled magic bullet behind McLaren’s MCL39, but Andrea Stella doesn’t mind that rivals are “distracted” searching for it.

From flexi wings to ‘tire water’ and brake cooling, McLaren have emerged as a force to be reckoned with, the Woking team leading both F1 2025 championship battles.

McLaren enjoying rivals’ suspicions

Last season much of the talk, and complaints, were about their mini DRS, while this year it’s their tyre temperature management that has rivals reportedly turning to thermal imaging cameras to discover the suspected trickery.

The FIA, though, has found none.

Following Oscar Piastri’s victory at the Miami Grand Prix, his fourth of this season, the Australian’s MCL39 was chosen at random by the FIA to undergo extensive testing.

F1’s governing body confirmed that Piastri’s car was found to be in compliance with the rules in Miami.

“All inspected components were found to be in conformance with the 2025 Formula One Technical Regulations,” read the FIA statement.

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Stella has enjoyed watching the wild goose chase as it means McLaren rivals are more focused on the Woking team than they are on resolving their own issues.

“For us,” Stella said, “it’s good news when our rivals get their focus – rather than on themselves – onto some of the aspects that allegedly are present in our car, and that effectively are not even present.

“And certainly, even if they were – let’s say, flexi wings like a front wing deflection, like everyone else – it has nothing to do with the reason why McLaren is very competitive.

“So, I hope that in the future there will be more of these kinds of sagas because it means that our rivals keep focusing on the wrong things, and this is, for us, just good news. It’s just helping our quest.”

Quizzed on McLaren’s advantage in managing tyre temperatures, it was put to Stella that it was more just the fabled ‘magic bullet’, that it was ‘lots of elements that combine’.

He replied: “I would like to give the wrong answer here so that I put all our rivals down the wrong route. The only thing I can say is that for me, over the years in Formula 1, I’ve learned that you have to focus on yourself and focus on the fundamentals.

“I think when you get too distracted by what the others are doing, it’s normally an alarm bell that you ring in your factory and should remind you to go back to the basics.

“So, I’m afraid I’ve given the right answer, so I’ve helped now my competitors. But you know, I’m intellectually honest, so I can’t really give the wrong answer tactically.”

Piastri will line up on the Imola grid on Sunday 16 points clear of his team-mate Lando Norris in the Drivers’ Championship, with reigning World Champion Max Verstappen a further 16 off the pace.

McLaren lead the Constructors’ race by 105 points ahead of Mercedes, Red Bull 36 behind the Brackley team.

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