Andrea Stella welcomes criticism of McLaren

Even before the start of this new race weekend at Imola, the teams at the top of the table seemed determined to question some of the elements explaining the supposed advantage of the MCL39. In particular, the debate arose over the potential use of phase change materials by McLaren, allowing them to manage the temperature rise of the tires and the braking system in particular much more easily than other teams.

While the FIA ​​considered that the integration of such a system by Red Bull would be contrary to the regulations imposed at the start of the season, McLaren appears to have been spared because this system would have been integrated around, and not inside the elements making up the system, which include the brake drums, at the heart of these famous allegations. Cleared of all suspicion since the verification of the car byOscar piastri After the Miami Grand Prix, the Woking team continues its work, focused on its own performances.

A favorite position that pleases McLaren

Whereas since the beginning of the season, Andrea Stella has tended to deny this status as favorite, preferring not to dwell on the performances of other teams, the Italian opened the weekend with a few statements aimed at the FIA ​​in particular. According to him, suspicions of cheating should not be allowed to be raised in this way.

"The FIA ​​should probably create a higher threshold for allegations to be made, as it creates a lot of work for them and leads nowhere, launched the Team Principal of the McLaren team. But I'm glad other teams are being defocused. It's good news that our rivals are focusing, rather than on their own performance, on some of the elements supposedly present in our car."

Apparently confident about the position of his cars relative to the rest of the grid, Andrea Stella can now hardly adopt an outsider's position. With Oscar Piastri preparing to start from pole position again for this Sunday's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, McLaren could gain another crucial advantage later in the season.

On the Red Bull side and Mercedes, the main competitors behind the leaders, no viable solution seems to have been found yet at the start of this European chapter. Once again, the next deadlines, including the one scheduled for Barcelona on May 31 and 1^er June with the rigidity planned by the FIA ​​in terms of movable wings, are emerging as the last chances of rapprochement for the rest of the field.

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