The Woking-based team is off to a better start in the 2024 Formula 1 season compared to the previous year. Although not exceptional, their performance has been decent enough to earn points in both the Jeddah and Bahrain races.
In Bahrain, Norris finished ahead of his teammate Piastri, but it was the latter who secured a fourth-place finish in the Saudi Arabian GP. Norris, on the other hand, took a risk by staying out during the Safety Car period, but it didn’t pay off and he ended up in eighth place.
In the McLaren team report, Stella commented on the race in Jeddah, stating, “We achieved another strong result here in Saudi Arabia. Oscar performed consistently throughout the weekend and took advantage of his strong qualifying position to finish fourth. He drove flawlessly and engaged in some intense but fair battles.”
“We decided to adopt different strategies for Lando at the Safety Car, hoping for a favorable situation in case of another Safety Car or a red flag, which are not uncommon in Saudi. It was a calculated risk worth taking,” explained Stella.
“Unfortunately, there were no further Safety Car or Red Flag incidents, which meant Lando potentially lost a few positions compared to where we could have finished. Nevertheless, it was still a commendable result and Lando drove exceptionally well. We take the positives from the first two races and acknowledge that development will be crucial throughout the season. We are pleased to be in close contention for a podium finish and are aware of the areas where we need to continue working and improving the car,” Stella concluded.
After finishing in fourth place, Piastri expressed his satisfaction, saying, “I believe we extracted the maximum potential from that race, and we executed our plan effectively. It was a bit frustrating being stuck behind Lewis Hamilton for a long time, but considering the circumstances, I think we earned the most points possible this weekend. I’m thrilled to compete in Melbourne next, my home race, and I can’t wait to race in front of the Australian fans at my local circuit.”
Norris, who successfully defended his position against Lewis Hamilton towards the end of the race, described it as a decent race. “We experimented with our strategy, but ultimately, it didn’t work out as we hoped,” he lamented. “However, it was a commendable effort, and I believe it was the right decision at the time as we were considering all options for the team. The car had a reasonable pace today, so we might have missed out on a few points, but I think we did our best. We took a calculated risk, and although it didn’t pay off today, it could have! So, I’m still satisfied. Today’s pace was quite strong, so there are positive signs for the future. On to the next race,” Norris concluded.
While Mercedes had a slight advantage over McLaren in Bahrain, the latter seemed to turn things around in Jeddah and even outperformed Aston Martin.