Following a stellar Spa performance, McLaren F1 closes in on the summit, with Stella applauding their significant progress.
Andrea Stella, McLaren F1’s Team Principal, expressed his delight at the Formula 1 spectacle provided at Spa-Francorchamps this Sunday.
The Italian praised the successful strategic gamble by Mercedes F1 and George Russell, despite Russell subsequently losing his victory due to disqualification.
“We conclude the first half of the season with a tight and splendid race, featuring several cars contending for victory until the final lap. Tyre degradation was lower than expected, and overtaking proved more challenging than anticipated, which made the race particularly intriguing in terms of opting for a one-stop strategy,” noted Stella.
“Adhering to a one-stop strategy required a dose of bravery. For Russell, who was behind Oscar, I think he had less to lose and I believe he was more motivated to attempt it, and it paid off. Kudos to Mercedes and Russell for making it work, even though they unfortunately lost the victory afterwards.”
Qualified fourth and fifth, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were unable to secure a win, notably because the Briton went off-track at the first turn and dropped three places, finishing the first lap in seventh. Piastri also made a pitstop error.
“For us, with the positions we lost at the start with Lando, and the fact that we did not qualify at the front of the grid on Saturday, we knew it was going to be somewhat challenging to climb back.”
“Oscar ran a very determined race. I think it’s quite impressive that he managed to be in contention for the victory at the end. The race was very clean, apart from the final stop where he stayed long in the box and we lost time due to him misjudging his braking.”
“We expected Lewis to overtake George and then George would be an easier target for Oscar. But George did a very fine job of holding the lead, despite the worn tyres, so it was just a solid performance by George.”
“For Lando, it was even more challenging to come back, as he was in traffic for most of the race, and even though we extended the first stint, there wasn’t much to gain from having fresher tyres for the next part of the race.”
Stella gave a positive review of McLaren’s performance at the Belgian Grand Prix: “Overall, we are very pleased with our drivers. Oscar really gave it his all, a very aggressive race from Oscar himself. And Lando unfortunately lost positions at the start, which turned out to be more costly than we thought after a few laps.”
“In summary, a very good first half of the season for McLaren. We are now even closer to the top in the constructors’ championship and we look forward to the second half of the season.”
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Stella Commends McLaren’s Gains Despite Setbacks Stella Commends McLaren’s Gains Despite Setbacks
