McLaren confident it can avoid slow F1 start repeat in Monza
McLaren thinks it has understood why Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri made poor getaways in Zandvoort and is hopeful it has addressed the underlying causes for the Italian Grand Prix.
Starting from first and third on the Dutch Grand Prix grid respectively, Norris and Piastri both made equally sluggish starts that saw each lose a position.
Norris eventually had the grip and top speed advantage to re-pass Max Verstappen and take a dominant win, while Piastri remained stuck in traffic for most of the afternoon and missed out on a podium berth.
It was the latest round of poor starts from McLaren, with Norris also losing his lead at the start of June’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
After a thorough review, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella says the team has understood the factors behind its stuttering starts in the Netherlands and is hopeful it can avoid a repeat.
“We have faced issues of different kinds,” Stella said. “In Zandvoort it didn’t have to do at all with the drivers.
“I think it was more in the preparation of the tyres that we were not in condition to maximise the grip. And in fact, Oscar and Lando had exactly the same start.
“Some other times it was more to do with optimisation of some other parameters, or some other times it was more in the execution. There are often more factors that you need to optimise in their entirety.
Pole man Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38, arrive in Parc Ferme after Qualifying
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
“This is the process, the review that we have gone through lately. So, hopefully we’ve been able now to maximise all these factors and we can have a good take-off from the grid.”
Norris and Piastri locked out the Monza front row after an extremely close qualifying battle with Mercedes and Ferrari, but McLaren isn’t overconfident it will be able to simply gallop off towards a 1-2 finish.
“There are many variables, like always, in terms of capitalising on such a good qualifying,” Stella explained.
“We mentioned the start, because even if we have good start, there’s still a long way to go to Turn 1, and the slipstream can be a factor.
“The second major factor, I’m sure is going to be mentioned by every single team, is that nobody has used the hard tyres, except for Racing Bulls in FP1 and not even on a long run.
“So, there’s uncertainty on what the behaviour of the hard tyres will be and on the medium tyres, the tendency has been for the tyres to grain at some stage.
“We carry a level of uncertainty into the race, which will make racing more exciting.
“This is good for Formula 1, this is good for the spectators. We would like to have boring race if it was up to us, but I don’t think is going to be a boring race at all.”
Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team, arrives at the track
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Stella says the rules of engagement between Norris and Piastri are crystal clear, especially given the reputation of Monza’s funnel-like Turn 1 chicane as the scene of chaos at race starts, which was showcased again in the Formula 2 feature race as championship contender Paul Aron was eliminated.
“In terms of approaching the first corner, our recommendation is always the ‘racing with the papaya rules’, Stella said.
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“You are always careful with any other competitor, but if the car is papaya you take even extra care, because we need to make sure, especially the car being so competitive, that we see the chequered flag.
“We try to stay away from this kind of mindset that my main competitor is my team-mate, because it’s not productive.”
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