Andrea Stella does not often gift a quote that frames a whole season. He delivered one this weekend.
Speaking to Autosport ahead of next weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, the McLaren team principal said the upgrade trails of the last two race weekends have collapsed the gap at the front of the grid to something measured in execution rather than design.
"If we look at the competitive scenario," Stella said, "we now have four teams that are separated by a very little lap time."
He went further. "So the four teams are so close now that actually the difference may be more about execution and optimization."
The verdict matters because the field arrives in Montreal on the back of a Miami round in which Lando Norris took the Sprint and pressed Kimi Antonelli all the way in the Grand Prix. McLaren scored more points in that single weekend than they had in the previous three combined, a swing Stella attributed to genuine performance from new parts.
"We feel extremely satisfied with the weekend, very encouraged, not only because in a single weekend we scored more points than the three previous races, but also because of the trend that we have established," he said. "It's a positive day, and it's positive news for McLaren, because it means that upgrades, they have worked well."
More parts are following him to Canada. The team has not detailed them publicly, but Stella confirmed the development pipeline behind Miami is still feeding.
"Like we have said already, we kept no secret. We will have some more stuff coming for Canada," he said. "We know that we have some more upgrades coming, which are kind of coming from the same group, so we are optimistic that they may allow us to take some further steps forward."
He stopped short of declaring parity. Antonelli leads the championship by 20 points after three wins from four, and Stella was direct that Mercedes are still the team to catch.
"I think Mercedes still possess a couple of tenths advantage on anybody else," he said. "This was the most noticeable today in the race and in grand prix qualifying."
It was the next line that hinted at where McLaren expect the order to swing. "So, I think Mercedes is still the best team, probably because we don't have many high speed corners here it's less noticeable than some other tracks."
That caveat is the one to bookmark. Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is a stop-go layout. There is no Pouhon, no Maggotts-Becketts, no high-speed sequence to translate aero advantage into clean lap time. Power, traction out of slow corners and braking stability under heavy load dictate the order. On Mercedes' side, Toto Wolff has already publicly hedged his upgrade.
"Yes, something is coming, or rather the bigger update will come in Canada," Wolff said in his own pre-race briefing. "Now we have to make sure it actually works. On paper it's easy to say you're three or four tenths faster. But it has to show on track and on the stopwatch."
Wolff was more candid in remarks reported by Crash.net. "Our competitors took a step forward in Miami and we need to respond."
The early-season picture has run as follows: Mercedes have won every Grand Prix and taken every pole. McLaren are now scoring with a usable trend line. Ferrari and Red Bull are within Stella's four-team window. Canada arrives as a Sprint weekend, with only one hour of practice before parc ferme. There is little margin for a misfire and even less for an upgrade that does not deliver. Stella's framing tells you what McLaren are bringing. Wolff's framing tells you what Mercedes still need.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/stella-four-teams-same-lap-time-canada-upgrades-mclaren). Visit for full coverage.*
