McLaren deliver startling Ferrari verdict after Lewis Hamilton win

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has declared Ferrari has the “best chassis” in F1 after its victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton secured victory on Sunday, claiming his first grand prix win since joining Ferrari at the start of 2025.

Before the Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari had struggled to consistently challenge the dominant Mercedes package, with its strongest opportunities coming in the opening rounds when it gained positions at the start before losing ground during the race.

However, following the introduction of a significant upgrade package in Barcelona, Ferrari made a clear step forward - leading Stella to suggest the Italian squad now has the strongest car on the grid.

“This race gives us very clear indications,” Stella told media including RacingNews365. “The indications, in a way, are consistent with what we knew already. 

“These indications are that Ferrari, at the moment, is the car with the best chassis.

“We see in the middle sector, especially in the medium speed corner, that Ferrari is the fastest in the corners.

“Not necessarily the fastest in the straights.” 

McLaren endured a challenging weekend but managed to secure a podium result on Sunday, benefiting from a late-race retirement for Kimi Antonelli.

Despite the positive result, Stella stated the weekend gave McLaren a clear indication of where it needs to improve going forward.

“We see that from a McLaren point of view, we are competitive in the high-speed corners, like corner three, nine, 14,” he said.

“But overall, we struggled with grip in medium speed and low speed. Very clear indications, as we knew already, that we have to add grip to the car of an aerodynamic nature to add load onto the tyres.

“Then we also have to improve the way we interact with the tyres in terms of qualifying preparation for what comes at the first corner.

“For instance, we see that often in qualifying we lose time at the start, but then in conditions like this in the race, we would like to reduce tyre degradation.

“So quite a clear agenda from a performance point of view, we need to add aerodynamic performance, we need to add solutions for a better tyre exploitation.”