McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has accused Formula 1 rivals of an "attempt at psychological warfare" over the controversy surrounding its rear wing at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Woking-based outfit has performed a complete 180-degree turnaround of its fortunes in the past two seasons and, having run through a stint of being the dominant car on the grid through the mid-point of the current campaign, it now sits atop the constructors' championship.
But changes have had to be made to its rear wing since Oscar Piastri's win in Baku after rivals pointed to video evidence of what they deemed excessive aerodynamic flexing, with the situation paraphrased as a 'mini-DRS'.
Tweaks were initially made for the Singapore GP but further changes were added at the United States GP, where Autosport reported other teams had also had to revise designs after the fallout.
Speaking exclusively to Autosport in relation to the topic, Stella said: "Our wings were compliant with the technical regulations and passed all the flexibility checks in force, at the same time we had conversations with the international federation receiving all the necessary reassurances.
"Obviously, we read a lot of comments in the media, opinions that came mainly from our opponents, not necessarily from journalists, and certain articles seemed to be a vehicle to spread the voice of some of our opponents on the track."
When asked if there was any annoyance over the furore, Stella replied: "There was.
"Seeing articles that appeared as a tool used by teams that wanted to put McLaren in a bad light through the media. The technical aspects are addressed with the federation, they are addressed with the regulations, they are addressed with the checks, but trying to put a team in a bad light puts us in a scenario where there is nothing concrete.
"It is an attempt at psychological warfare aimed at weakening the opponent but, on our part, the facts were very clear.
"In the end, this story has strengthened us even more as a team because, when the opponents start to get so distracted thinking about our technical solutions, I can say that they are giving us good news, it means that they are losing their compass a little.”
Red Bull caused controversy at the Circuit of the Americas over the ability to adjust its front bib with a device within the car, though the FIA quickly closed any conspiracy over the case by declaring it a non-story.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown was one of the leading protagonists against the device, calling for further FIA investigation, while rival team boss Christian Horner dismissed the ire as distraction tactics.
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