McLaren details key factor helping Max Verstappen’s Red Bull to dominate in 2023

McLaren has been putting in consistent performances during the second leg of the 2023 F1 season.

McLaren details key factor helping Max Verstappen’s Red Bull to dominate in 2023

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (Credits: Imago)

The Red Bull Formula 1 team has operated in a league of its own during the 2023 F1 season. The outfit has quite comfortably kept all its rivals at bay. Despite their ever-growing dominance, McLaren has pinpointed that factor that is helping it stay ahead of its competition.

During the first and some part of the second leg of the ongoing campaign, Red Bull did not face any resistance from its rival teams. However, since the last few races, McLaren has really come to the party and started putting some pressure on Max Verstappen and company.

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While the Austrian outfit still finds a way to dominate, McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, has shed light on why Red Bull has proved a cut above the rest. Stella told Autosport that he ardently feels McLaren is getting left behind in taking care of its tires during races.

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I think the difference is mainly in terms of lap time on used tires. We have seen that in new tires, we can fight for position. But as soon as the tires degrade, then it would appear like Max, Red Bull, they can just have less degradation. The tires were degrading maybe one-tenth every two laps.

Would McLaren be able to clinch a victory away from Red Bull in the upcoming races?

While Andrea Stella has pinpointed the area that is helping Red Bull stay ahead of its rivals, McLaren has also not been too shabby, especially in the last few races. In Brazil, Lando Norris was able to hang onto the rear of Verstappen’s RB19 for some time but ultimately had to back off.

McLaren (Credits: Top Gear)
McLaren (Credits: Top Gear)

If the Woking-based team is somehow able to get its tire issue sorted ahead of the upcoming races, there could arrive a scenario where they might be able to challenge Red Bull for the win. However, considering that only two races are remaining in 2023, time is running out quite quickly for them.

The first of the two remaining races will be hosted at Las Vegas, which is making its debut in Formula 1. During next week’s event, there will be quite a few unknowns around the track/conditions, and keeping this in view, it is going to be fascinating to see how the two MCL60s would perform at the Las Vegas strip.

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