Led by Andrea Stella, McLaren finished P2 and P3 at the F1 Japanese GP as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri collected 33 more points for the team in the Constructors’ Championship, although they fell short of beating Max Verstappen on Sunday afternoon.
McLaren estimations had Red Bull and Max Verstappen close to them heading into qualifying
Speaking in his print media session after the F1 Japanese GP, Andrea Stella outlined that Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen looked closer than it appeared following practice.
Going into qualifying, Stella felt McLaren had a tenth or two over Verstappen as fuel loads and engine modes played a factor in the 0.532s gap at the end of FP3. The Dutchman pulled out a magnificent lap to pip Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to pole.
“I think to win races like this you need perfect execution, because I think in hindsight the gap we had to Red Bull yesterday in qualifying and also this gap was the same that we measured in practice sessions. Because I invite everyone to look at the practice session always remembering that 10 kilogrammes of fuel at this circuit is three and a half tenths, and engine modes can be several tenths of a second.
“So for us it was very clear that Verstappen was close. We thought we had one tenth, one and a half tenth, perhaps a two tenth advantage which is I think what was going on until what was going on until the final set in Q3.
“I think when it’s a matter of milliseconds everyone always retains the possibility to say ‘I could have done better here and there’ but this is a matter of milliseconds. So I think I don’t want this matter of milliseconds to outshadow a weekend that is overall still quite positive.”
Good points for the championship but the best of standards required to consistently beat Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing
Victory by Max Verstappen in the F1 Japanese GP means the Dutchman is a single point behind Lando Norris heading into Bahrain this weekend, with Oscar Piastri 13 back from his teammate. It’s an incredibly close gap despite the Woking-based team having the faster car at the first three events.
Andrea Stella says the result was pretty pleasing, even if the brilliance of Max Verstappen shows the level they need to operate at.
“I think for Lando and Oscar in terms of the points they scored even for their championship quest and it’s positive for the team.
“Then we know that we to beat Max [Verstappen] and Red Bull we need to operate at the highest standard but also we need to operate consistently.
“And I think when you might have won but you don’t win and you are P2 and P3 is still a robust way of going racing, and I think this will be will pay off at the end of the season.
Stella warns his McLaren team hard work is required to keep Verstappen and Red Bull F1 at bay even if they have got the best package
A lack of tyre degradation at Suzuka following resurfacing meant McLaren could not use the full strengths of their MCL39 package. Since Miami last year they have had consistently the best cars regarding long runs and how gentle they are on tyres over a stint.
One-stop races in China and Japan disguised that advantage somewhat as the hard tyre in both races could have lasted all day. The Italian hopes the upcoming races will play more to the strengths of their car. It should be the case in Bahrain.
Along with praising Max Verstappen once again, Andrea Stella also warned his team to keep on working and improving the car, even if he feels they have the benchmark car in F1 at present.
“I think I just say that once again hats off to Max and Red Bull.
“At this track there were some other variables that you may have at some other circuit that were not available. Like there was no tyre degradation so you can’t do very much.
“No overtaking [possible either], so once for instance you nail the qualifying laps like Max did yesterday then it gets a little bit difficult to get out of the rabbit hole.
“So hopefully not all the circuits will be let’s say this level of degradation even because for the spectacle it just creates some processions to some extent. And also hopefully at some other circuits we will be in condition to use the full potential of the car which I think still remains the best car.
“We need to work and this is not only the drivers, this is above all a message for the team. We need to nail all the opportunities that ultimately deliver performance.”
Stella: No clear evidence that Oscar Piastri was faster than Lando Norris in the F1 Japanese GP
In the second stint of the race at Suzuka, Oscar Piastri felt he was faster than Lando Norris on the hard tyres as he consistently was either close to or in the DRS range of teammate Lando Norris. It was a similar story on the mediums until the Australian started to struggle on his tyres at the end of the stint.
The Brit was generally 1.2-2.0s behind Max Verstappen throughout the race as dirty air hampered him, and a lack of tyre degradation saw drivers pushing flat-out in the Grand Prix leading to one overtake in the (net) top 10.
Stella believes it was not obvious Piastri was faster in the Grand Prix when asked if thoughts about swapping the cars was an option.
“I don’t think it is so clear that Oscar was faster. I think Lando was trying to get in Max’s slipstream even closer, but anytime you went below one second, then there was a significant loss of grip.
“So then Lando was doing a little bit of an elastic today, trying to cool down a bit his tyres, going again.
“So I don’t think it is a situation that we should judge at face value in terms of what the pace of the car was.”
