Piastri will start sixth after receiving a three-place grid penalty for impeding Liam Lawson during Q2. Norris qualified eighth after reporting braking problems.
The result followed McLaren victories at the Hungaroring and Zandvoort, but Stella said qualifying positions did not reflect the full potential of the MCL40.
Piastri initially qualified third, while Piastri and Norris finished second and third respectively during Q2. “I think, in general, we should be able to compete for podiums, but we will have to be smart from a driving point of view, from an energy usage point of view, and from a strategic point of view,” Stella said.
Slipstream positioning played an important role during qualifying because of Monza’s long straights. Stella said McLaren secured strong results when both drivers received an effective tow but lost performance through errors elsewhere.
Piastri’s impeding incident occurred after leaving the pit lane during the closing stages of Q2. The penalty moved Piastri from third to sixth on the starting grid.
During Q3, McLaren sent both cars out early to avoid joining the back of the queue and potentially missing the final timed laps.
However, battery management problems affected performance, while Piastri locked up at the first corner. Norris also lost time during the opening Q3 attempt. “We had some issues managing the battery, and here in Monza, every 1% in the battery charge costs you a significant amount of milliseconds,” Stella said.
Stella said McLaren could have qualified within the first two rows with stronger execution across slipstream positioning, battery use, braking and driver performance.
Race conditions could provide opportunities because several qualifying factors will carry less influence over a longer distance.
Stella expects energy deployment, overtaking decisions and strategy to determine whether Piastri and Norris can move forward. “It will be, I think, a very interesting race,” Stella said.
“Being close to the car ahead will make you fast, and if you pass, you may be slower than you were after the car.”
McLaren will seek to convert competitive underlying pace into stronger results after leaving potential unused during qualifying.
–F1/ChannelAfrica–
