McLaren confirms its return to the forefront: after his success in Hungary, Lando Norris followed up with a second consecutive victory at Zandvoort, confirming the progress of the MCL40.
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Andrea Stella is delighted to see his team now regularly capable of competing for victory, even if the McLaren team principal still refuses to look towards the championship.
The weekend had not started ideally, however. Despite his presence on the front row of the Sprint, Norris had not shown a particularly convincing pace on Saturday.
Stella praises an «imperial» Norris
McLaren therefore worked to correct its weaknesses before the Grand Prix: « Overall, the weekend in Zandvoort was positive, with pole position and victory in the Grand Prix. However, nothing is ever guaranteed. After the Sprint race, we knew we had to improve our race pace, so the drivers and engineers did an excellent job to find the extra performance needed. »
In the race, the reigning world champion perfectly exploited the progress made by his team. Stella particularly highlights his management of tires and difficult conditions, as well as several decisive overtakes: « Lando was imperial, driving like the world champion he is, and he amply deserved this victory. He knew how to make the most of the car and tires, perfectly managed very difficult conditions, and made excellent overtakes. »
Strategy also played an important role, with McLaren deliberately extending Norris’s second stint to allow him to attack at the end of the race:« I would also like to commend the team’s work on strategy. We extended the second stint to attack, which paid off. »
With two consecutive victories, Norris becomes only the third driver to win multiple Grands Prix this season. His 83-point deficit to Andrea Kimi Antonelli remains significant, however.
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Piastri deserved better than sixth place
The assessment is more mixed for Oscar Piastri, only sixth at the finish. Stella nevertheless believes that this result does not reflect the Australian’s true level of performance: « For Oscar, the final sixth place doesn’t really reflect the competitiveness he showed throughout the weekend. »
A complicated pit stop and the difficulties encountered in getting the hard tires up to temperature heavily penalized his race: « We lost time during the pit stop, then we struggled to get the hard tires up to temperature during the second stint, which cost him several positions. His pace during the first and last stints was much more representative. »
For Stella, the Zandvoort result above all confirms that the progress observed in Hungary did not depend solely on the characteristics of the Hungaroring.
McLaren wants to confirm at Monza
« This victory is important for the team because it confirms the progress made in Hungary and proves that we are now in contention for victories » the Italian engineer rejoices.
McLaren, however, refuses to consider the work finished. The next step, at Monza, will be a very different test due to the low downforce levels and the importance of aerodynamic and engine efficiency.
« We will approach the races one after another, focusing on ourselves, continuing to develop the car and optimizing our performance every weekend, he concludes. Monza will represent a very different challenge and will help us better understand our true potential. »
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