Max Verstappen, from the Netherlands, races for Red Bull Racing RB20 and competes in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, on May 19, 2024, during the Formula 1 World Championship, Round 7.
McLaren believes that the way Formula 1 weekends are executed will be more important than pure performance in their battle against Red Bull in the 2024 season. The Woking team has made significant progress since last season and emerged as the closest competitor to Red Bull after introducing upgrades in Miami. Lando Norris, after his first win in the United States, made a final push against race leader Max Verstappen in Imola, finishing just seven tenths behind.
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella argues that the pace difference between the two cars was minimal and mainly due to Red Bull’s ability to hold position on track. Stella highlights that the top three drivers were separated by just a tenth of a second in qualifying, emphasizing that small incremental factors will determine the race order. Stella explains: “Execution of the weekend is always a key factor, but when the margins are so small, yesterday I think the top three cars in qualifying were within 0.1s, so clearly operations and how you manage the tires and execute the race will become the dominant factor.”
Stella also points out the impact of being in the “dirty air” caused by backmarkers, which negatively affects the car’s pace. He acknowledges that starting from pole position and being ahead in the first corner allows for better tire management and race control. Stella praises Max Verstappen for his tire management performance and believes it played a significant role in his success.
Despite Ferrari and Red Bull bringing updates to Imola, Stella is encouraged by McLaren’s improved performance with their revised parts in a different circuit configuration. However, he notes that the next race, the Monaco Grand Prix, is an exceptional case and may not accurately reflect the ongoing battle between the teams. Stella comments: “It’s a confirmation in Miami and in Imola, which are definitely two different positions on the spectrum of circuits we visit. But the issue with Monaco is that it’s on the limit of track characteristics. Last year, if I’m not mistaken, think about what happened with Alpine [Esteban Ocon achieved a podium]. They were great in Monaco, and that’s Monaco – sometimes the car works really well, their drivers are really in tune, and so I would suspend judgment for now, be prepared as much as possible with race operations and have some specific updates for the track as well. We will bring some new parts to Monaco, which are specific to the maximum downforce configuration – and hopefully they will help us stay in the hunt.”
