McLaren lose out after unexpected Ferrari win by strategy
The Monza race was supposed to be a McLaren-themed one. Since the free practice sessions, they showed excellent pace. But between some mistakes by Lando Norris and an unexpected strategy by Ferrari, McLaren failed to obtain the first place.
Their qualifying results confirmed what was seen during the free practices. McLaren locked out the front row for the Italian Grand Prix. A real nightmare for the Ferraristi.
The tech updates brought by McLaren to the track in Monza
As for the upgrades, McLaren decided to focus on small things this time. For this race in Monza, they decided to bring track-specific upgrades, that would also bring an advantage to the races to follow. Even though it was a small package of upgrades, the car still proved to be strong on the track. The high performance gave hope to the entire Woking team.
A race with high temperatures
First of all, it must be said that the race in Monza was very complex due to the high temperatures. Drivers therefore had the challenge of managing their tyres as best as possible to minimise degradation as much as possible. It was also important to make clean pit stops and have clear ideas on which strategies to use. The track reached 50° and the new road surface in Monza caused a lot of graining on the Mediums as well as the Hards. No one aside from Yuki Tsunoda had tried the Hard tyre during the weekend, to preserve as many sets as possible for the race. And the wear on it was much higher than expected.
What didn’t work in this race for McLaren?
McLaren’s race went well. They had pace and the performance was there. However, at the start of the race, the man on pole, Lando Norris lost the lead to Oscar Piastri. Shortly after, Leclerc also overtook the Brit. Norris therefore lost two positions on the first lap. But what really threw McLaren into a crisis was Charles Leclerc’s one-stop strategy which they didn’t expect. Also, another important point to highlight is that Ferrari was faster than McLaren on the straight. When McLaren got close to Ferrari, they struggled to follow it on the straight.
Perhaps a missing strategy at McLaren, since among their hypotheses they did not include that of a hypothetical one-stop strategy for the Monegasque. All in all, however, both McLarens finished on the podium, obtaining second and third place, behind race winner Charles Leclerc.
What will happen in the next race?
The next appointment will be in Baku, in two weeks. The Baku circuit is a very twisty street circuit with very tight corners. Given its particular corners, it is one of those circuits that is highly demanding on the brakes. So a circuit where the braking system is very important. So far, McLaren has proven to be the most competitive single-seater. However, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes are still strong competitors that they need to look out for.
