McLaren Formula 1 chief Andrea Stella has clarified that there was no one solution responsible for the team’s impressive performance in the Chinese Grand Prix. Stella referred to the Shanghai International Circuit’s combination of long-radius corners and slow-speed turns as a challenging factor, describing the race as a test of damage control. Despite this, the Woking-based team exceeded expectations by securing pole position in the Sprint race, followed by Lando Norris clinching a podium finish.
Norris himself was pleasantly surprised by his ability to outperform the Red Bulls, as he had previously predicted McLaren would finish 35 seconds behind the Ferrari drivers. Stella acknowledged that McLaren’s strong showing in the earlier race, which took place under drier conditions, came as a shock and gave them an advantage over Ferrari.
When asked if the race result was anticipated, Stella responded, “No. Because during the Sprint race, we didn’t see the race pace that would have allowed us to finish ahead of Ferrari, which was in line with our expectations prior to the event. So, it’s quite surprising, especially in terms of race pace.”
He further explained that McLaren’s strength lies in their ability to perform well on a single lap, particularly when using new Soft rubber tires. However, over the course of multiple laps, their performance tends to decline. Nevertheless, the track and weather conditions during the Chinese Grand Prix, which lacked sunshine and featured cold temperatures, helped McLaren maintain control over their rear tires and capitalize on the car’s strengths, as seen in qualifying.
In addition to the cooler temperatures, Stella believes that the Shanghai track deviating from its previous characteristics as a circuit that heavily relied on front-end grip and ground effect cars also played a role in McLaren’s improvement.
“I believe that this circuit didn’t pose as much of a challenge for the front tires as it did in the past, ever since the introduction of wider tires,” Stella explained.
He also mentioned that the track conditions helped maintain grip on the rear of the car, as the rear axle did not overheat during the race.
“On the other hand, during the Sprint race, we experienced some overheating issues, which seemed to give Ferrari and Max Verstappen an advantage,” Stella noted.
He further explained that the race conditions were more manageable and the degradation was under control, unlike in front-limited circuits where McLaren struggled more.
“The cold conditions helped keep the rear axle under control. It was a combination of factors that contributed to our car’s performance,” Stella added.
Stella also revealed that McLaren was pleasantly surprised to discover that the setup adjustments made after the Sprint race, which were aimed at improving their race pace, did not compromise their qualifying performance.
“We were actually surprised to see that our qualifying performance remained decent even after making changes to the car to enhance our race pace. It seems like these adjustments did have a positive impact on the race. It wasn’t just one single solution but a combination of factors,” Stella concluded.