Stella says McLaren matched Ferrari and Red Bull's race pace in Austin

McLaren left the United States Grand Prix without a podium, but team principal Andrea Stella said the MCL40 had been as competitive as Ferrari and Red Bull during the race. He also said Kimi Antonelli seemed a step ahead of everyone else. Lando Norris finished fifth and Oscar Piastri was seventh.

Norris and Piastri had qualified eighth and seventh respectively. Norris's one-stop strategy took him to second in the closing stages, but Max Verstappen and Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, all using two-stop strategies, eventually got ahead of him.

Stella said the one-stop offered a chance to benefit from a safety car, but none came. He said McLaren knew it was very unlikely to keep Verstappen, and especially Leclerc, behind; the prospect of holding off Hamilton depended more on the final phase of the hard tyres.

Norris had not finished on the podium in the previous four Grands Prix. After Austin, Stella said McLaren expected little in the way of upgrades for Mexico, with upgrades planned for Brazil and Las Vegas. He hopes the changes will put the team in a consistent fight for podiums and eventually help it reach the level needed to challenge for victories.