McLaren arrived in Miami with high expectations, rolling out what team principal Andrea Stella called an "entirely new" car—a major aerodynamic upgrade developed during the five-week break in the Formula 1 calendar. And initially, it delivered. Lando Norris dominated the Sprint race on Saturday, finishing ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri, signaling that the team's hard work had paid off.

But then came Grand Prix qualifying, and the script flipped. Max Verstappen snatched pole position by just 0.065 seconds, edging out Norris for second. Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli put his Mercedes in third, pushing Piastri down the order. On paper, McLaren had the pace. The challenge was turning that speed into a clean, decisive lap when it counted most.

Stella, speaking to Sky Sports F1, didn't pin the shortfall on a single issue. Instead, he pointed to a mix of factors. "After Sprint Qualifying, we said that multiple cars could have been on pole," he explained. "Mercedes struggled with deployment, and Leclerc made a couple of mistakes." For Grand Prix qualifying, however, the conditions shifted. "The wind was very different," Stella noted. "We had a few things to manage with power unit consistency, and the drivers needed to find the rhythm. It looks like some other teams were better than us from that perspective."

In simpler terms, McLaren's setup didn't adapt as smoothly to the changing track conditions as Red Bull's did. The Miami race weekend also introduced new technical tweaks—like reduced recharge during qualifying and a +150 kW boost cap—adding another layer of power unit management that teams handle differently. "The reality is, because of the upgrades and track characteristics, the four teams are very close," Stella said. "It's more about execution now."

Credit to Stella, he's not looking for excuses. "For F1, this is very good news," he added. "We have some entertaining racing ahead of us." It's a confident statement, especially when your car just won the Sprint and your championship leads remain intact. With rain forecast for Sunday's race, the Miami Grand Prix could turn into an unpredictable thriller—and McLaren will need to execute perfectly to stay ahead of the pack.