McLaren Team Principal Says Mercedes Was 'As Quick As Red Bull' At United States Grand Prix
F1
McLaren F1 team principal revealed the thinking behind McLaren's strategy and rated Red Bull and Mercedes after the end of the 2023 United States Grand Prix.
Lando Norris crossed the line in third place on Sunday at Circuit of the Americas, and he later gained one position after Hamilton's disqualification a few hours after the race.
Norris mentioned he did what he could, and it just wasn't enough to compete with Red Bull and Mercedes. His team principal, Andrea Stella, revealed Verstappen's bellow expectations pace gave McLaren hope. As quoted by motorsportweek.com, he told the media:
"In the first stint I thought Verstappen’s pace was below my expectations, I thought he would be making ground more rapidly. That’s actually what gave us a little bit of, you know, fluctuating situation that ‘oh, maybe today we can do it because he doesn’t seem to be too quick.’"
Verstappen was apparently managing a problem with his brakes throughout the race, which might potentially lose him some valuable time.
We could not possibly know how much time it was exactly, but his teammate Sergio Perez did not show an outstanding pace, so it seems fair to estimate the pace was not radically changed after the break issue.
Lewis Hamilton was affected by not-ideal strategy and long pit stops, but with fresher tires at the end of the race, he was catching Flying Dutchman. Considering everything, Stella thinks Mercedes was as quick as Red Bull in Austin.
“It all depends on how much Verstappen was holding because of the brakes. But if we look at that, it’s not like Perez was flying at the same time. So potentially at this event let’s say Mercedes was as quick as Red Bull.”
Even in the ideal strategy scenario, McLaren team principal does not believe Norris could challenge Verstappen or Hamilton for the race win.
"I don’t think the result would have been different because Hamilton and Verstappen were too quick for us. But possibly we could have stayed in the game a little longer."
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