McLaren admits it didn’t give Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri a quick enough car at Brazilian GP
Andrea Stella agrees McLaren faced multiple struggles at the Brazilian GP, with Lando Norris’s car lacking pace as the main challenge.
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Oscar Piastri, Andrea Stella, and Lando Norris (Via: Imago)
At the Brazilian GP, McLaren experienced their worst performance in recent races, with Lando Norris being outpaced by Max Verstappen. Team principal Andrea Stella admitted that the car in Brazil wasn’t quick enough to handle setbacks at the event.
Despite claiming pole position in qualifying, Norris’s race was affected by several hurdles that hindered his performance. The Brazilian GP was full of challenges for McLaren as both drivers failed to finish in the Top five. Despite starting from pole, Lando Norris faced a penalty risk for jumping the grid after Lance Stroll‘s crash caused an aborted start.
The FIA fined him 5000 euros, adding more pressure to his tough race at the Brazilian GP. After that, George Russell overtook him at the second start, and after a pit stop for intermediate tires, he dropped to sixth. The race was soon red-flagged, and drivers changed tires during the break, following the rules. The Briton strongly disagreed with this, feeling the mid-race tire changes hurt his chances in the race.
If this was not enough, Oscar Piastri on the other hand also received a penalty for getting into contact with Liam Lawson. This 10-second penalty placed him in eighth position resulting in a loss of points.
It was a busy day in Sao Paulo, which is not surprising given the changeable conditions. Congratulations to Max who made an impressive comeback from the back of the grid, and also to Alpine for the double podium.
Andrea Stella told Formulapassion.it
Andrea Stella stated that the circumstances in Sao Paulo did not favor the working-based squad. Acknowledging all the hurdles they endured on track, one thing they lacked was enough pace in the car. Both Norris and Piastri demonstrated exceptional performance due to their car’s speed in the last few races.
However, Stella agreed that the car didn’t have the speed to compete effectively against Red Bull or any other team. Verstappen with ease overshadowed the Briton showcasing incredible speed with his new engine.
The circumstances did not play in our favour today. In particular, the moment of the red flag, after the tyre change, was unfortunate. It was difficult for both Lando and Oscar to progress. We did not give them a car with enough pace to overtake in the race without the DRS being activated.
Andrea Stella stated
Andrea Stella explains ‘lessons to be learned’ from the Brazilian GP
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri unable to finish in the top five left them with scoring little points for the team in the constructors’ championship. The wet conditions of the track made it difficult for all drivers but McLaren struggled more and eventually lost positions due to mistakes.
The decision to pit Norris was also heavily blamed which dropped him down the order. Andrea Stella acknowledged the lessons to be learned from the triple header to come back stronger in the upcoming races in Las Vegas.
I would also like to thank everyone who has been in Woking for making the updates and improvements over the last three races and everyone in the team for their commitment and great work over this triple header. There are lessons to be learned from today and we will do so over the coming days.
Andrea Stella expressed
The constructors’ standings didn’t see a major shift after the race, but Lando Norris’s championship hopes took a hit. Verstappen extended his lead to 62 points, making it nearly impossible for Norris to catch up in the upcoming final races of the 2024 F1 season.
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