McLaren’s Formula 1 team boss, Andrea Stella, clarified that there was not a single solution responsible for the impressive performance of the team at the Chinese Grand Prix. Stella referred to the combination of long-radius corners and low-speed corners at the Shanghai International Circuit as a challenging factor, describing the race as a damage control test. Nevertheless, the Woking-based team exceeded expectations by securing pole position in the Sprint race, followed by Lando Norris clinching a spot on the podium.
Norris was pleasantly surprised by his ability to outperform the Red Bull cars, as he had previously predicted that McLaren would finish 35 seconds behind the Ferrari drivers. Stella acknowledged that McLaren’s strong performance in the previous race, which took place in drier conditions, was a surprise and gave them an edge over Ferrari.
When asked if the race result was expected, Stella replied: “No. Because during the Sprint race, we didn’t see the race pace that would allow us to finish ahead of Ferrari, which was in line with our expectations before the event. So, it’s quite surprising, especially in terms of race pace.”
He further explained that McLaren’s strength lies in its ability to perform well on a single lap, especially when using new soft rubber tires. However, over multiple laps, their performance tends to decrease. Nevertheless, the track and weather conditions during the Chinese Grand Prix, which had no sun and low temperatures, helped McLaren to manage their rear tires and capitalize on the car’s advantages, as seen in the qualifying session.
In addition to the lower temperatures, Stella believes that the fact that the Shanghai circuit has moved away from its previous characteristics as a track that relied heavily on front grip and ground effect cars also played a role in McLaren’s improvement.
“I believe that this circuit has not represented as much of a challenge for the front tires as in the past, since the introduction of wider tires,” explained Stella.
He also mentioned that the track conditions helped maintain grip on the rear of the car, as the rear axle did not overheat during the race.
“On the other hand, during the Sprint race, we had some overheating issues, which seemed to give an advantage to Ferrari and Max Verstappen,” Stella observed.
He further explained that the race conditions were more manageable and degradation was under control, unlike circuits with front limitation, where McLaren faced more difficulties.
“The cold conditions helped keep the rear axle under control. It was a combination of factors that contributed to the performance of our car,” Stella added.
Stella also revealed that McLaren was pleasantly surprised to find that the adjustments made after the Sprint race, aimed at improving race pace, did not compromise performance in qualifying.
“In fact, we were surprised to see that our performance in qualifying remained good even after making changes to the car to improve our race pace. It seems that these adjustments had a positive impact on the race. It was not just a single solution, but a combination of factors,” Stella concluded.
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