Tag Archives: Ferrari

Stella says there were reasons why McLaren lost its winning form in Austin

McLaren Formula 1 boss Andrea Stella says it was “no surprise” that McLaren struggled in Austin and was outperformed by Ferrari and Red Bull.

Stella stressed that Ferrari has been consistently competitive recently, while not always optimising that performance.

In addition he said that the nature of the COTA layout played to the strengths of the rival cars, and didn’t help McLaren.

“I think in terms of competitiveness, there’s some multiple factors to consider,” said Stella. “When it comes to Ferrari, they have been quick over the previous races pretty consistently. If anything, they’ve not been capable of maximising their potential.

“I think in Baku Leclerc, in fairness, was definitely in condition to win the race. In Singapore we were expecting Leclerc to be very competitive for pole position, and therefore then it would have been the same in the race. So we are not surprised that Ferrari is so close.

“And then when we look at the characteristics of this circuit, in particular because of the braking into very low-speed, and some very high-speed sections, we know that in these two situations, our car is not at the best of its performance.

“And for instance, the very low-speed and the very high-speed is also where Red Bull are very good.

“So if we consider that Ferrari, they were already competitive, if we consider the track layout, and if we consider that Red Bull had three weeks to look at data and think what is going on with their car – and we talk about Red Bull, a very competent group of engineers – then I’m not surprised that in Austin we kind of struggled.”

Stella is more optimistic about the team’s prospects in Mexico City this weekend.

“I think the next circuit should be a little bit more suitable to the characteristics of our car. We also have to keep developing the car, like here.

“We took some developments at the front of the car, but they were nothing too large in terms of potential lap time impact. We have a couple more things that are coming in the next two races. We will see if we are in condition to alter the competitiveness of the car.”

Stella reiterated that the upgrades that didn’t make it to Austin should be proven when they do arrive on track, which has been a theme all year for the team.

“If we were in condition to release them and produce them in time to have them in Austin, we would have brought them to Austin,” he said. “I think the time of new parts and upgrades landing trackside is the natural time of designing, finalising and then producing the new parts.

“I’ve said before that we wanted to make sure that what we bring trackside is well-behaved. And we are quite encouraged.

“And I have to say, well done once again to our aerodynamic team that the parts we took [to Austin], they worked as expected, and hopefully this will be the case also for the parts coming for Mexico and Brazil.”

RB Formula 1 team CEO Peter Bayer says that Liam Lawson’s grid penalty at the US GP allowed his engineers “to go a bit extreme” on the setup of his VCARB 01.

After a disappointing sprint the team tried something different heading into qualifying as it tried to optimise the latest upgrade package, which included a revised floor.

As Lawson was destined to start at the back of the grid due to his PU change penalty there was little to lose by taking a risk.

The changes worked and the New Zealander duly made his point by earning a token third place in Q1 before putting in a charging drive from 19^th to ninth in the race itself.

In so doing he earned two valuable points on a weekend when Haas scored seven and moved ahead in the battle for sixth place in the championship.

“I said to Laurent [Mekies] on the pit wall it’s true we have lost the lead, but we have gained again performance,” Bayer told this writer. “And I think the guys, Alan [Permane] and the team, did a very, very good job in bringing this new floor.

“And especially what happened in qualifying with Liam, because they had no pressure on Liam’s car, and they went a bit extreme on the setup, just trying some stuff. And that’s really what unlocked a lot of performance.”

Bayer was full of praise for Lawson’s drive into the points.

“What a statement!,” he said. “First weekend in the car. And honestly, we thought that probably with the penalty that P3 in Q1, that was a high, and we should be proud and happy.

“Obviously he did a very good job in Turn 1, there with a bit of turmoil, and he kept it clean. And then, honestly, he was faultless in the end.

“He did very good laps, good pace. I think what played into his hands is that the overcut was a lot stronger than we thought.

“Obviously, with the hard, we were expecting to go long, but the way it turned out was definitely more than what we had calculated for.

“So that was great. And then in the end he was managing it really well. And he also said he felt very comfortable in the car. He was working a lot more with the switches than he usually would have done. Overall a very, very impressive performance.”

Bayer believes that despite dropping behind Haas in Austin RB will ultimately be able to recover sixth place.

“We have to be careful, but so far, we believe that we’re ready to fight until the end,” he said. “It’s a very long straight here. Also I felt in the debrief that the guys put their smiles back on their faces, and so they’re confident.

“To see that you have a car that when everything works well, and the driver is capable of exploiting that to the maximum, that you can put it on P3 in Q1 that gives me the confidence to take the fight to those guys.”

Christian Horner admits that it was important for his Red Bull Racing team to “get off the back foot” with a strong performance over the Formula 1 US GP weekend relative to rivals McLaren.

Helped by an upgrade package Max Verstappen won Saturday’s sprint race and then finished third in the main event, behind the two Ferraris.

He outscored Lando Norris for the first time since the summer break, extending his advantage by five points and ending a frustrating run for the team.

“I think it’s a combination of factors,” said Horner. “I think the team have worked very hard, and I think they’ve definitely added performance here. I think there’s more to understand, and more to fine tune.

“But I think coming off the back of Singapore it’s been a strong turnaround. We’ve outscored our nearest competitor in the drivers’ championship by five points this weekend. Three weeks ago, that looked very difficult.”

He added: “Five races to go now, and a 57-point lead. Nothing’s ever comfortable or assured, but it was important for us.

“This is the first time we’ve outscored Lando since I think Spa, so that was important for us to get off the back foot, and more onto the front foot.”

Expanding on what the latest upgrades have achieved Horner said they have helped to address the balance issues that have troubled Verstappen for much of the season.

“I think what it’s done is brought the balance a bit closer together,” he said. “So this disconnect between front and rear, it’s brought more of a balance into the car. And really, from the first lap, Max was much more competitive.

“He was much happier with the car as soon as we got here. So that’s encouraging for some of the races coming up as well. First part of this triple header, sprint race weekend as well, as I say, this is as much as we could have hoped for coming off the back of Singapore.”

However Horner acknowledged that Verstappen had struggled on the hard tyre in the second half of the main race in Austin.

“I think we seemed to engineer into the car a bit more understeer today, and that then sort of killed the front tyres,” he said.

“And compared to yesterday [in the sprint], where we didn’t have any understeer, the car was very quick.

“So we were quick enough to get the pole for the sprint, won the sprint, and had good degradation in the sprint, and the McLaren looked to be the one that was fading.

“Ferrari looked quick all weekend, in fairness. And then, arguably, we should have had the pole yesterday. We had a car that was very strong in quali. And then the weakest that we’ve been has been really on the hard tyre, with a bit too much understeer throughout the race.”

Regarding this weekend’s race in Mexico he said: “The form is moving from day-to-day, circuit-to-circuit. I think Ferrari have brought performance here.

“They’ve looked very strong, particularly in the race trim. It was interesting, obviously, they sacrificed perhaps a little in quality, to benefit in the race. And I’m sure they’ll be competitive in Mexico City.”

Piastri had a relatively quiet race to fifth in Austin

Oscar Piastri says that his McLaren MCL38 “very tricky all weekend” after he started and finished the US GP in fifth position.

His team mate Lando Norris secured pole for Sunday’s race and finished fourth having been demoted from third by a penalty, thus ending a long run of podium finishes for the Woking outfit.

McLaren brought a package of upgrades to Austin, although Piastri did not have the new front wing that was on the sister car.

The Australian admitted that it was difficult to understand the car’s performance over the course of the weekend.

“It’s not been straightforward, that’s for sure,” he said. “I think today seemed a little bit more positive than yesterday. I think my pace relative to Lando, at least, was pretty similar for a lot of it.

“To be honest it’s not a complete surprise where we ended up, and where Ferrari ended up. I think Lando made us look more competitive than we were yesterday [in the sprint]. Fourth and fifth today is not completely unexpected.

“The car has been very tricky all weekend. I think over one lap it’s had potential to be quick, but trying to go unlock it has been incredibly tough, and then over the race, you can’t get away with the same things that you can over one lap, and the true pace really shows itself.”

Piastri had no explanation for why his pace picked up later in the race.

“I really don’t know,” he said. “Even the first two or three laps, both of us, it looked like we were really struggling to hang on to the pack ahead. The first 10-15, laps, we really struggled. Don’t know why.

“I was struggling a bit with the tyres, and they came back, and the medium looked very strong, considering it was pretty dead. So a bit of a confusing one to read. And I think even the pace in the second part of the race was maybe not amazing, but not terrible.

“So some things to try and understand, because e obviously can’t change the car from lap 15 to the rest of the laps! We need to understand why we suddenly found some pace.”

Piastri is hoping that Austin will prove to be the most difficult race for McLaren in the last part of the season.

“I hope this is our weakest of the [last] six,” he said. “We obviously had some good races at the tracks that are coming up last year, we had some bad races at some of the tracks coming up.

“I think in general, we should be a bit more competitive. We’re certainly not expecting Ferrari to be out of the picture for the rest of the year.

“They’ve kind of gone a little bit under the radar in the last few races, Monza they were obviously very quick, Baku was very, very tough to hold them back. And Singapore, I think, without their poor qualifying, they would have been very, very competitive.

“And this weekend is the same. This is not a completely unexpected result for them. We just need to try and turn that around next time.”

Ferrari enjoyed a perfect Sunday in Austin

Ferrari Formula 1 boss Fred Vasseur says that the US GP was “very well executed” by the Maranello team after Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz moved up from the second row to finish one-two.

From fourth on the grid Leclerc jumped into the lead at the start, while Sainz went from third to second on strategy.

The team showed good race pace throughout the weekend having found an optimum set-up that was kind to the tyres of the SF-24.

The result showed that earlier upgrades are now working well across a range of circuits.

“For sure we did a step forward after Monza, with Monza, Baku, Singapore,” said Vasseur. “But they are not conventional tracks, and it was probably a bit more important to be performant on this weekend, and we did a good job.

“It went well, mainly on the race pace, but in quali we struggled a little bit Friday and Saturday. But I’m very pleased with the result of the weekend, because at the end of the day, the car was okay, but we did also a very good job from the beginning to the end.

“Very well executed on the strategy, the pit stop, the start. Everything went well, and it’s a good weekend.”

Asked by this writer how satisfying it was to have such a perfect race and win from the second row he said: “It was not the plan and to start third and fourth! I would have preferred to start one and two.

“But it is like it is. I think Carlos was in a very good lap before the yellow flag or the red flag in quali, and I could have done the pole, but I think

“It was true also between Friday and Saturday, that we had a better pace on the race pace and the long stint than on the quali. It’s not a drama in Austin, because you have occasions to overtake, and it’s one of the tracks if you start third and fourth, then you have a good pace, you can still win the race.

“It’s not always true, and I’m not sure that it would be true on every single track until the end. I think that sometimes we will have to do another choice, and but I think this weekend was the good one.”

While Vasseur acknowledged that the team was missing qualifying pace in Austin, he indicated it wasn’t due to a specific weakness on the soft tyre relative to rivals.

“I’m not whether it’s related to the compound,” he said. “I think it’s more of the pace on one lap, but it’s also a choice in terms of a setup.

“Austin is also a strange one, because you have the first part very high-speed, bumpy, and the last part more load, low-speed, smooth, and you have to decide where you want to be competitive. And the same for the race.

“I think the other teams went a little bit in our direction between Saturday and Sunday, but we kept the advantage, and at least on the tyre deg, it’s big advantage to be in a good shape on the last part.”

Ferrari came to Austin with a stable package in terms of aero parts declared to the FIA, although Vasseur hinted that there were changes under the skin of the SF-24.

“You have to do it step-by-step,” he said. “And honestly, when you speak about upgrades, it’s what we are declaring, and that means that it’s aero, but performance is not only the external shape of the car. And everybody’s pushing, and we are pushing.

“I think honestly now we are the point of the development that when a team is bringing something, we are speaking about tenths of seconds, not more, and you have much more into the setup and so and sometimes.

“And it’s true, I think, from the beginning of the season, when the team is bringing something, it’s perhaps sometimes a step forward in terms of pure performance, but it’s also creating a bit of mess into the setup. And it’s not always a step forward in terms of results.”

McLaren didn’t ask Norris to give back the place

McLaren Formula 1 boss Andrea Stella says that his team thought that the FIA’s investigation of the Lando Norris/Max Verstappen incident in the closing stages of the US GP would lead to a penalty for the Red Bull driver.

The team didn’t ask Norris to give back the third position, but it did tell the following Oscar Piastri to be aware that Verstappen up ahead might be getting a time penalty for forcing the Englishman wide.

McLaren also opted not to pit Piastri in order to grab the extra fastest lap point that was then held by Franco Colapinto, so that he remained in touch with Verstappen.

However instead of Verstappen being punished the five-second penalty was handed to Norris, dropping him back to fourth in the final standings.

Stella was adamant that Verstappen should have been deemed at fault, if anyone.

“I think the defending car goes just straight at the apex,” he said. “We checked the video multiple times. It’s just going straight. It’s just going off-track, as much as Lando is doing, just giving no chance for Lando to complete the manoeuvre.

“If I were a journalist, I would have done a bit of statistics – how many times Max has used this way for defending? Both cars go off track. So I think both cars are gaining an advantage, if there’s an advantage gained.

“So for us, this manoeuvre was at the least neutral, but when I saw that there was an under investigation, I was pretty sure that was because Max pushed Lando off the track.

“And in fact, we told immediately Oscar, make sure you close five seconds on Max, because there could be a position at stake. So the interpretation of this situation between McLaren and the stewards is polar opposite.”

Like Norris himself Stella questioned the urgency to decide on a penalty. Without talking to the drivers, given the high stakes.

“I am surprised that the stewards didn’t even feel the need to discuss with the drivers after the race, it is an uncertain situation, get the opinion of the drivers, get the time to assess the situation with the level of details that is required when the situation is not so clear.

“So where is the urgency to interfere with the result of a race with a championship cause, just because you have to make the decision in 60 seconds? It’s a question mark that I think the stewards should take constructively, positively. Is it really needed to make a decision so quickly, and in our opinion, so wrongly?

“It’s just the fact that you defend by going off-track. This cannot be permissible.”

Regarding the decision not to give the place back he added: “Under my responsibility, but there was complete agreement by all the people involved in this interpretation, this situation did not need to be investigated.

“And once we saw and if anything, we thought the investigation should be for Max pushing Lando off the track. And that’s what we thought was going to happen when we saw that the case was under investigation. So for us, there was no need to give back the position because of the situation.”

Stella admitted that the team was also frustrated by the first corner, where Verstappen ran Norris wide, and the McLaren driver tumbled to fourth behind the Ferraris.

“We were a little upset by the manoeuvre in corner one, because not only Max gained the position, but it cost the complete exit for Lando, and therefore losing the positions on both Ferraris.

“At the same time, we sort of understood that the stewards might have applied the first lap mitigating circumstances, and we accepted it, because we always have respect for the difficulties that the stewards operate under, but they should have respect for their job as well.

“And when the case is so difficult, like Lando and Max, just take the time, review it after the race, hear from the drivers, try to understand the subtleties. So I think the first lap, first corner can be mitigated by the first lap interpretation. But I think this one for me is really difficult to understand, more than the one in the first lap.”

Stella countered the suggestion that Norris could be more aggressive in his encounters with Verstappen.

“I would not say that Lando is to be more aggressive,” he said. “I think anytime you have this kind of duel on track, you learn a little bit. But I don’t think Lando should change the fundamental way he goes on this kind of overtaking or defending manoeuvres.

“There’s some technicalities that possibly can be reviewed. But I think in this case, if it was in this lap, it could have been the next lap, Lando would have been successful in his manoeuvre.

“So I don’t think you need to change, become aggressive at the risk of not finishing the race. Obviously, Max has a lot of experience.

“We’re talking about a very, very capable driver. I’m not disrespecting this. Max is outstanding, and in this case, the message that McLaren are giving is that there was no need for the stewards to interfere with the situation or not under the urgency of deciding during the race.”

Strategy boss Ravin Jain was sent to the Austin podium

Carlos Sainz has credited Ferrari Formula 1 head of strategy Ravin Jain for playing a key role in helping the Italian team to return to winning form by making the right calls.

Jain was asked by Fred Vasseur to represent the team on the podium in Austin after Charles Leclerc led Sainz home in an impressive one-two finish.

Ferrari has made some strategy errors in past seasons, but has been much more sure-footed of late.

In Austin Sainz jumped Max Verstappen for second place after pitting earlier for hard tyres.

“I think full credit for Ravin and all the strategy team for the progress that’s been made in Ferrari over the last couple of years,” said Sainz. “I think it’s been important to see progress in that side. And there’s been a lot of work being done behind the scenes.

“And obviously, Ravin has played a fundamental role in that work. Like I’ve said many times, having a good car on race day always helps to make the strategy work. And I feel like this year, compared to last year, we have a very strong car on race day.

“The best example is today. A car that allows you to be the first one to box and still extend the hard tyre and still be quick on the hard tyre, and not because of being the first one to box then degrading more than the others. That is something that I’ve struggled in the past, especially last year, a lot with that.

“And yeah, Singapore, I remember boxing in lap 14 of a 70-lap race or a 60-lap race and still making it to the end. With any other car or with any other year that we’ve had, where degradation [was high] and the car was weaker in the race, this wouldn’t be possible.

“So making bold strategy moves on race day wouldn’t be as easy, and you would look more crazy by doing them. And this year, having a car that degrades less the tyres and makes you more competitive on race day also allows you more flexibility and better opportunities to play with the strategy.”

Sainz congratulated his team for the job it did in securing a one-two.

“I think everyone needs to be very happy and very proud of this weekend,” he said. “And of how we’ve recovered from a tricky middle part of the season to suddenly put ourselves in a position to dominate the race like we did today and to be clearly the fastest car on track come race day.

“I’m very happy to see this and I hope it repeats itself from here until the end of the year because it would be really nice to get another win before the end of the season.”

Regarding prospects for the last five races he said: “If I would have to bet, I would say Mexico and Vegas are good tracks based on last year. I’m basing myself a bit on last year.

“This year everything seems a bit different. But yeah, and then I think Qatar is going to be a bit our bogey track, if I would have to bet again my money and then Abu Dhabi I’m not sure.

“I’m not sure what we can achieve in Abu Dhabi, but let’s see. I just hope this pace shows itself again before the end of the season and gives me another chance of going at it.”

Norris admitted that he drove like “a muppet” at the start

Lando Norris has questioned what he calls a “rushed decision” by the FIA stewards that cost him third place in the US GP.

Norris was penalised five seconds for gaining an advantage by going off track while attempting to pass Max Verstappen in the closing laps.

He didn’t quite open a big enough gap to cancel out the penalty, so the positions were reversed after the flag.

Calls on such penalties are routinely made without speaking to the drivers concerned, and when a podium position is at stake and an incident happens in the late stages there is obviously an urgency to produce a quick outcome.

In this case it had a significant impact on the World Championship, creating a six-point swing in Verstappen’s favour.

“It’s a tough job to steward these kinds of things,” said Norris. “For me, whatever I did, the point that is incorrect is what Max did, which is also defend his position by going off the track, and what effectively would be keeping his position, which is not correct.

“He went off the track by defending, and he’s overdefended and made a mistake, and therefore he’s gained. The same time, because of that, I’ve had to go off the track.

“It’s impossible for people to know if I could have made it on the track or couldn’t. Therefore you cannot steward that kind of thing. But those are the rules.

“They seem to change, because I feel like it’s quite inconsistent from say, what happened in Austria, where Max didn’t get a penalty and went off the track gained an advantage. So I think there’s again inconsistency.”

Norris suggested that in such instances the views of the drivers should be heard.

“For me it’s just a rushed decision, and they don’t hear or understand our points, which they should do after the race,” he said. “They just want to make a decision at the time, so you don’t alter points and podiums and things like that.

“But therefore it’s a rushed decision, and they don’t hear my point of discussion, or my team’s point or Max’s point, which I don’t think is maybe the most correct thing. But today it was a penalty, and not a lot I can do apart from just accept that I tried.

Expanding on the theme he said: “They’re just guessing. I don’t think that’s how stewarding should be done. It’s a difficult job for them to do.

“So not complaining against them. I think it’s just more the fact they don’t see everything, understand everything as well as we do when we’re inside the car.”

Norris and Verstappen had another close moment at the start of the race, when both went wide and Charles Leclerc was able to steal the lead.

“I think both times Max went off the track, he had a lot of commitment to keep me behind,” said Norris. “Thing is, with Max, you’ve got to commit. People don’t understand that kind of thing. With Max, you can’t just go half hearted.

“Turn 1 is a bit harder to say whether it was because I didn’t commit enough, but the fact that he committed so much speed in that he again went off the track.

“I can’t just dive up the inside of someone, run off and then keep the position in normal running, but for some reason it’s completely okay on lap one in Turn 1.”

Norris stressed that both drivers in the fight are competing in a high stakes environment.

“I think Max drove very well,” he said. “I think it’s very hard to do what we’re doing, and it’s hard when you’re side-by-side, you’re completely on inside of the track, to guess what your braking marker is.

“You’re going quicker than you have before because you use the battery, the tyres are older, there’s different bumps, there’s a lot of dirt. We’re battling and we’re fighting hard.

“So I respect the battle that we had. It was a good one. It was enjoyable. I think it was respectful. I think turn one I didn’t do the correct thing. But I feel like what happened in the end of the race was more on my side.

“Otherwise, it was a good battle, and I enjoyed it. We just didn’t come out on top because I didn’t do a good enough job.

“If I defended better in turn one and wasn’t driving like a muppet, I’d have led after turn one, and we shouldn’t have this conversation in the first place.”

Regarding the impact on his championship challenge he said: “It’s a momentum killer, but we came in here with our mind open, not expecting to dominate or just win or anything. So the fact that Ferrari was so quick today showed they’re just as competitive.

“Even if I came around turn one in first I would never have finished first or second, and only could have finished third.

“But the one guy I need to beat is Max, and that’s the guy I didn’t beat today. So it was a non-successful weekend all in all, but we gave it a good shot. I tried. It wasn’t good enough, and we have work to do, and I have work to do it myself.”