McLaren suggest Max Verstappen’s title bid “very difficult to keep up” without best car

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes it will be difficult for Max Verstappen to maintain his F1 title challenge without Red Bull improving their car.

Verstappen reduced Lando Norris’ lead at the top of the F1 drivers’ standings to just one point after his victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The four-time F1 world champion delivered a masterclass to take his first win of the campaign, halting McLaren’s win streak.

McLaren were left to rue both drivers underperforming in qualifying, while their strategy on race day was scrutinised for being too conservative.

Even though Verstappen won at Suzuka, McLaren are still the heavy favourites for both titles.

Speaking after the race in Japan on Sunday, Stella conceded that Verstappen is “making the difference himself”.

However, Stella noted that it will be “very difficult” for Verstappen to remain in the title fight for the whole season if Red Bull don't improve.

“I think definitely the most important condition to pursue both championships is having the best car,” Stella said as quoted by Motorsport Week.

“So somehow this relates to what I said before it’s important that when we are not in condition to win we keep racing in a robust way.

“Okay, like if you can’t win, finish on the podium and in the long term if you keep performing like this, I think this will be rewarding.

“I think Max, at the moment, is somehow making the difference himself, but it’s very difficult to keep up for 24 events in a season if you don’t have the best car.”

Stella still wary of Mercedes and Ferrari

Stella is refusing to rule out Mercedes or Ferrari during the remainder of the season.

Ferrari dominated the sprint part of the weekend in China, with Lewis Hamilton taking the win from pole position.

George Russell started the year with back-to-back podium finishes for Mercedes.

“We treat Max and Red Bull like Russell,” he added. “How can you discount Leclerc-Hamilton?

“Like obviously Ferrari is struggling a little bit now, but we treat all these certainly within the spectrum of the full season, at least until we have stabilised a little bit.

“Because I think at the moment we are still falling within the variability of the circuits. We have Hamilton winning the Sprint in China, Russell being competitive in the race in China. Here we have Red Bull and Max.

“I think we’re still in a transient phase, we’ll have to see how things settle down.”