McLaren boss Andrea Stella says that the team learned valuable lessons in Las Vegas after Lando Norris “tried something extreme” in the final stint.
The team had been struggling with front graining, but in the latter part of the race Norris found more performance after adapting his driving style.
He started and finished sixth after what was the team’s most disappointing race for some time, although he also grabbed the fastest lap bonus after a late switch to soft tyres.
“The review of Lando’s third stint will give us some important information as to what you need to achieve in tracks like this with our car in order to be competitive,” said Stella.
“Because the way we were using the car, driving the car, is definitely outside the way we normally would do. And that was more traditionally what we tried to do during the weekend.”
“At the same time, you can do it to some extent, because at the end of the race, there was much more grip than at any other time during the weekend, because of all the cars running.”
“And Lando didn’t have anybody ahead of him, so he got the clean air. So he had some conditions that helped. But definitely we tried to use the car in a significantly different way, and this seemed to make the lap times happier.”
“So we are not happy from for the point of view of the result, but at least we got some important information to understand more about what you need to do in these kinds of conditions that you face here in Vegas, with a car that is designed in the way we design it, which is certainly not to operate in conditions like in Vegas.”
Stella praised Norris for being able to adapt mid-race: “We spent two stints just graining front tyres. And at the third stint, Lando tried something extreme, and it worked.”
“You don’t do what Lando did in the final stint if you are not aware of what’s happening, and if you are not conscious that you have resources and tools in yourself or in the car, and then you are even in condition to deploy them and use them.”
“So I think today gives us, even though the result to be honest, is a P6 but actually, in terms of how the competitive competitiveness evolved during the race, big credit to Lando for experimenting and finding some solutions.”
Norris said after the race that he’s had issues with the front of the car for up to six years, and Stella acknowledged that recent McLarens have a particular DNA.
“I think there’s some McLaren characteristics that we have improved over time,” said the Italian. “Definitely, we have been able to deliver a competitive car that can win races, but kind of can win races in a certain kind of circuit.”
“And some of these inherent limitations, especially with the behaviour of the front end, still sometimes pop out when track layout or grip level or downforce level mean that you need to get a certain response from the front end.”
“And at the moment, this response from the front end, we are not able to offer to our drivers.”
“And this is also why I say that looking at the final stint in which the car came more alive, and the lap times were competitive, definitely we approached things in a slightly more aggressive way.”
“We didn’t change the fundamental nature of the car, but we kind of really forced to remove the limitation at the front, and it seemed to make the lap times more competitive.”
