Formula 1 Today: McLaren Boss Identifies High-Speed Cornering as Key Area for Improvement
As the battle for supremacy in Formula 1 intensifies, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has pinpointed high-speed cornering as the main area where his team must now improve to stay competitive with Red Bull. Since the Miami Grand Prix, McLaren has emerged as Red Bull’s closest challenger, with Lando Norris claiming his maiden win. However, the Woking-based squad has been unable to add to that breakthrough in subsequent races, with minute details proving costly in Canada and Spain.
“I think the race pace was very, very similar,” Stella contended. “Very, very similar. I think the fact that we were faster at the end is because we had fresher tyres. The fact that he was faster at the start is because we were behind Russell.”
Stella emphasized that McLaren’s remarkable turnaround last season was largely due to its strong performance on high-speed circuits, where the MCL60 was a close second to Red Bull’s RB20. However, the updates introduced in Miami exceeded expectations, significantly improving the low-speed performance and transforming it from a weakness to a strength. Stella denied that McLaren has traded its previous high-speed prowess to enhance slow-speed cornering but acknowledged that the former is an area that now requires attention.
- “I would say that while there are some sections of the car that don’t necessarily fit the characteristics we have now,” he explained, “there are some others that will fit. Like if we look at the second sector. We’ve been very competitive all weekend. And this is again witnessing the improvement we have made in the medium and low speed [corners].”
With the Formula 1 calendar moving forward, Stella stressed that McLaren must continue to develop and improve, ensuring that it doesn’t lose ground in high-speed cornering. “The fact that we’ve been able to alter the personality of the car, now it’s a car that works well in a speed range which 12 months ago was our weakness, but with this generation of cars you gain somewhere, you lose a little bit somewhere else. And you just have to continue your development and make sure that… it’s not like we made high speed worse. It’s like we didn’t improve it as much as we did in some other areas. And some other people did.”
As the Formula 1 standings remain tight, McLaren’s focus on high-speed cornering could prove pivotal in its quest to challenge Red Bull for top honors. Stay tuned for the latest Formula 1 news and updates as the season unfolds.
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