McLaren On Ferrari Battle: We’re Concerned By ‘Required Point Rate’

Andrea Stella, McLaren’s racing director, has said the Woking-based team is concerned by the “required point rate” for them to triumph in their battle with Ferrari for P3 in the Constructors’ Championship.

McLaren finished third in last year’s standings and, in the hands of Lando Norris, their 2021 challenger has been the third-fastest car at many of the circuits raced at so far this season.

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They have been battling a resurgent Ferrari for P3 in the Constructors’ Championship this campaign, and both teams are currently level on 163 points apiece.

Reflecting on last year, Stella said finishing third came as a surprise as Racing Point had the third-fastest car:

“Being third is a great achievement, it was a bit surprising last year, fighting with Racing Point,” Stella said in an interview with Motorsport.com.

Continuing, he said the number of points they need to score from each race to sustain their fight with Ferrari is “quite ambitious.”

“And it is also this year, because we are fighting with Ferrari, which is obviously a great team, for which we have a lot of respect.

“We will see realistically if we are able to confirm third place, because the required point rate is this year very high.

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“We are averaging 16 points per race [from the grand prix contested prior to Hungary]. And this, realistically, is quite an ambitious result,” he added.

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