Andrea Stella rues Lando Norris’s missed shot at a podium in the Dutch GP

McLaren achieved a double-point finish at the Dutch Grand Prix, securing seventh and ninth positions. Despite this, the team feels they missed an opportunity for a podium due to strategic choices and errors—their optimistic outlook of Lando Norris’s P2 in qualifying ended in vain after a late call at the beginning to pit late for intermediate tires.

While other drivers opted to pit either during the first or second lap, Norris returned to the pits on the third lap. Unfortunately, by then, the competitors who had already switched to intermediate tires had gained a significant advantage. It was a big blow since he already lost track of positions to Fernando Alonso initially.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella claimed his team missed a solid podium-deserving race. He pointed out that the team might have given the driver the wrong information and dissuaded him from pitting early. He later added that Norris would have finished on the podium behind Alonso if not for the wrong pit-call.

“With Lando, we hesitated at that stage and went into the next lap, losing quite a bit of time. We have to review the communications because we have to review exactly what we told him [Norris] that may have dissuaded him from calling the stop,” Stella said, as reported by Motorsports.com.

“We could potentially aim for the podium [with Norris]. I think Fernando [Alonso] was ahead of Lando because he overtook him on track. So, Fernando gained track position, but behind Fernando, he could have found a position for Lando. Therefore, the missed opportunity includes a potentially missed podium,” Stella added.

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McLaren has upgrades in the pipeline for Monza

Last month, at a low-downforce circuit like Spa, the MCL60 faced challenges in terms of performance, particularly its resistance to progress. The team had primarily focused on increasing the car’s downforce during initial developments.

In Belgium, McLaren introduced two slightly different rear wings: a more downforce-oriented option and a lighter one achieved by trimming the DRS flap to save costs. Andrea Stella has now confirmed that for Monza, there will not be a completely new wing but a modification of existing wings.

“We will make changes to the existing wings. But to make this level of modifications, we would have had to modify the wings from a constructive point of view, able to be modified, as they will need to be modified for Monza. yes it will be a combination of modifications in addition to the wing we adopted at Spa, predominantly,” Stella said.

In case you missed it:

• Former F1 racer’s selfie with ‘The Office’ actor Steve Carell at the Dutch GP was ROYALLY photobombed
• George Russell explains his FURIOUS team radio rant at the Dutch GP

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