Lando Norris, a British driver for McLaren, showcased his skills at the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. McLaren’s team boss, Andrea Stella, explained how the team’s updates to their car, the MCL38, played a crucial role in Norris’s victory. Prior to the race, McLaren unveiled a significant upgrade package for their car, including improvements to the front wing, suspension, sidepod inlet, engine cover, and rear suspension. Stella had expressed optimism about the upgrades but also tempered expectations, noting that the team’s full potential might not be realized immediately.
Despite this caution, Norris demonstrated impressive speed right from the start of the race weekend. He topped the timesheets in both the first and second qualifying sessions, showcasing the car’s capabilities. However, a slip-up in the pole position shootout due to issues with tire temperature meant that Norris did not start from the front of the grid.
Starting in fifth place, Norris faced challenges early on as he slipped to sixth on the first lap. Turbulence during the race made it difficult for him to mount an attack on Sergio Perez, who had fallen back from the leading group of drivers. However, Norris’s opportunity to shine came when the top five drivers made pit stops, allowing him to unleash the hidden potential of his car.
By following these instructions, the text has been rewritten in a tabloid format with multiple separate paragraphs. The specified phrases and trademarks have been removed.
The McLaren driver proceeded to deliver the quickest laps that his opponents on fresher tires couldn’t match, with Max Verstappen describing such a fast pace as unachievable.
Although he was initially expected to remain outside of the top three positions, Norris brought himself back into contention for the final stages of the race with the use of newer Hard tires.
However, this became irrelevant when a Safety Car was deployed on Lap 29 due to a collision between Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant at Turn 3, presenting Norris with a fantastic opportunity.
McLaren called Norris into the pits, resulting in minimal time loss compared to his competitors, allowing him to maintain his first-place position until the end of the race.
Verstappen had been dealing with floor damage caused by hitting a bollard at Turn 14, but Norris showcased that McLaren’s MCL38 was the fastest car in race configuration.
So, what had caused Stella to be cautious about McLaren’s potential in Miami, despite acknowledging the improvements made by the team?
Well, McLaren has consistently struggled with a lack of speed in slow corners for several seasons, which continued to be a recurring challenge at the beginning of this campaign.
Combined with the MCL38’s vulnerability in straight-line speed due to excessive drag, McLaren had reason to believe that the second sector would be particularly challenging.
However, the signs during FP1 suggested that McLaren had improved its top speed compared to usual, with Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri recording competitive speeds in the speed traps.
Unfortunately, both drivers dropped down the order once parc ferme closed for the second time before Grand Prix qualifying, indicating that McLaren had increased its downforce.
Despite this, McLaren still opted for a rear wing configuration with less load, a decision made possible by the overall improvements in the car’s aerodynamics.
Stella explained after the race that these upgrades had created a more efficient aerodynamic platform, reducing the reliance on the rear wing to generate downforce.
“Yes, we were relatively competitive in a section that features a long straight followed by a low-speed segment,” the Italian explained. “We had good top speed here.
“One of the reasons is that we intentionally chose to use a relatively light rear wing. But we were able to do so because we added downforce through other means.
“And this allowed us to be less dependent on the rear wing, which is not always the most efficient solution.
“When you upgrade the car with floor and sideboard improvements, it’s always more efficient than relying solely on the rear wing for downforce, if that makes sense.”
Stella also admitted that McLaren made specific setup choices to ensure competitive performance in the slow-speed sections.
“At the same time, we consciously decided to configure the car to maximize performance in low-speed corners,” he added.
“So, the impressive performance that we had at lower speeds is not solely due to the characteristics of the package. It is also a result of deliberate decisions made in setting up the car to maximize our strength in low-speed situations. In fact, during yesterday’s qualifying session, we lost a significant amount of time in the high-speed sections, but this was a deliberate choice in our setup.”
If McLaren’s competitiveness carries over to future circuits, their latest substantial upgrade package could prove to be a game-changer. Stella has cautioned that McLaren still needs to take another step to consistently challenge Red Bull, as Verstappen’s damage alone cost him 0.25 seconds in Turn 1. McLaren will gain further confirmation of their upgrades at the upcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, a track where Norris has achieved two podium finishes in the past.
However, McLaren will also be on equal footing with both Red Bull and Ferrari, as the top two teams in the championship also implement their own developments. Norris had previously mentioned that while the upgrades are performing as expected, the current track may not fully showcase their potential. He hopes that at a track like Imola, they will be able to see more of what the car is capable of. Overall, the team sees this as a positive step in the right direction and acknowledges the hard work put in by the entire team.
Norris added that it is important not to judge the car based on one session or one track. It needs to be evaluated in various conditions, including high downforce and low downforce setups. People are too quick to make judgments based on a single weekend or day of racing. However, McLaren has consistently made tangible progress whenever they introduce new parts, bringing them closer to their past successes.