Andrea Stella has defended his McLaren team over its performance during the Japanese Grand Prix after Max Verstappen claimed victory for Red Bull.

Heading into qualifying at Suzuka, it looked as if either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri would take pole, setting the team up for a race win in the process – but that is not what transpired.

A superb effort from Verstappen stole first on the grid away from the papaya pair. He followed that sensational lap with a composed and assured drive to win on Sunday.

Despite his drivers looking poised for victory earlier in the weekend, Stella was quick to maintain the gap to Verstappen was smaller than it appeared.

“To win races like this, you need perfect execution,” the 53-year-old told media, including RacingNews365.

“Because I think in hindsight, the gap we had to Red Bull in qualifying – and also this gap was the same that we measured in the practice sessions – for us, it was very clear that Verstappen was close,” he added after underlining how much power unit modes and fuel levels can disguise pace during practice.

“We thought we had one-tenth, one-tenth-and-a-half advantage, which is, I think, what was going on until the final set [of laps] in Q3.

“So, I think when it’s a matter of milliseconds, everyone always retains the possibility to say, ‘I could have done better here and there’, but this is a matter of milliseconds.

“I don’t want this matter of milliseconds to overshadow a weekend that was overall, still quite positive for Lando and Oscar in terms of the points they scored, even for their championship quest, and it’s positive for the team.”

Stella: ‘It’s still a robust way of going racing’

As brilliant as Verstappen’s qualifying display was, and as difficult as it is to pass around the flowing corners of the Suzuka Circuit, there is also the feeling that through strategic missteps, McLaren handed victory to the four-time F1 drivers’ champion.

The Woking squad chose not to gamble with either Norris or Piastri during the pit stop phase of the grand prix, and took the curious decision to pit the Australian first, from behind, when the British driver ahead could have caught Verstappen and Red Bull with the undercut.

Nonetheless, Stella believes McLaren’s approach to race management will come good, as it seeks to clinch a second consecutive constructors’ title for the first time since 1991.

“We know that to beat Max and Red Bull, we need to operate at the highest standard, but also we need to operate consistently,” the Italian mused.

“When you might have won, but you don’t win and you are P2 [and] P3 [instead], it’s still a robust way of going racing. And I think this will pay off at the end of the season.”