F1 Q&A: Did McLaren miss a trick in Norris v Piastri battle?

Trending 1 month ago

Graphic image of, from near to right, Alex Albon, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and Oliver Bearman. It is connected a bluish inheritance pinch 'Fan Q&A' beneath nan drivers

Red Bull's Max Verstappen had his 2nd title triumph of nan play at nan Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, pinch McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completing nan apical three.

Lewis Hamilton, successful his first Ferrari outing successful Italy, vanished fourth.

Next up successful nan European triple-header is nan Monaco Grand Prix, from 23-25 May.

Before that, BBC Sport F1 analogous Andrew Benson answers your latest questions.

Why do group get truthful excited that Max Verstappen "is winning successful an inferior car" erstwhile it's intelligibly not an inferior car? - Bob

Seven races into nan season, location is simply a decent sample from which to tie conclusions astir nan strengths and weaknesses of nan various cars.

On axenic qualifying pace, McLaren person 4 rod positions to Red Bull's three, and nan McLaren is quicker connected mean by 0.138 seconds a lap, aliases 0.163%.

In title results, McLaren's Oscar Piastri has 4 wins, his team-mate Lando Norris 1 and Red Bull's Max Verstappen two.

Just distilling it down to those earthy statistics, it is clear to spot why "people" would opportunity nan Red Bull was an "inferior" car, arsenic you put it. Because, connected balance, it is existent that nan McLaren is nan amended car complete a wider scope of circumstances.

But their comparative capacity changes depending connected way characteristics.

In particular, nan Red Bull is beardown successful high-speed corners. That's why its champion tracks of nan play person been Suzuka, Jeddah and Imola.

This was not arsenic clear astatine nan clip of nan Japanese Grand Prix arsenic it is now, and that astir apt explains nan guidance astatine nan clip to Verstappen's rod thigh and triumph astatine Suzuka.

That's not to diminish nan value of his rod there. It was genuinely outstanding; nan McLaren was somewhat faster astatine Suzuka and either Piastri aliases Norris could person beaten it had they nailed their laps. But it is other context.

By contrast, erstwhile rear-tyre degradation is simply a large issue, and/or aliases nan corners are slower connected balance, nan McLaren is simply a stronger comparative package, particularly successful races.

That's really they tin spell from humiliating Verstappen and Red Bull successful Miami to being beaten adjacent and quadrate successful Imola - though had Piastri held connected to nan lead astatine nan first area connected Sunday, he whitethorn good person been capable to return a protect triumph successful a akin manner to Verstappen's successful Japan.

At nan aforesaid time, nan image is ne'er fixed, because F1 cars are prototypes, and Red Bull person introduced upgrades astatine nan past 2 races, whereas McLaren person not, really.

McLaren squad main Andrea Stella put it for illustration this connected Sunday evening successful Imola: "Red Bull person improved. They've been processing their car complete nan past mates of races, and I deliberation they person taken a measurement forward.

"And then, if you look astatine nan velocity of nan corners, and we comparison it pinch nan velocity successful Miami, it's a wholly different regime. The car operates successful a wholly different portion of nan aerodynamic maps.

"We cognize that our car is beardown successful way layouts for illustration Miami, aliases Bahrain, aliases China. But erstwhile it comes to high-speed corners, for illustration we person present successful Imola, I don't deliberation we bask immoderate peculiar advantage.

"So, nan way layout, nan advancement of Red Bull, I deliberation they are nan 2 factors that make that we didn't person overmuch advantage today."

While it was awesome to yet spot a Lando Norris v Oscar Piastri on-track battle, McLaren besides threw distant nan chance of a triumph by not applying squad orders. Is it excessively early successful nan title for this, aliases did they miss a instrumentality by not letting Norris person a spell astatine Max Verstappen aft nan information car? - Tom

The different situations astatine nan 2 teams contending for nan drivers' title surely supply an absorbing contrast.

On nan 1 hand, Red Bull are very overmuch focused connected Max Verstappen, while McLaren are trying to beryllium perfectly adjacent to some drivers.

This reflects a basal quality successful attack from nan 2 teams, but it besides arises practically from circumstance.

Verstappen is Red Bull's clear number one, but he is besides their only driver consistently successful nan operation astatine nan front.

McLaren can't enforce squad orders astatine this early shape of nan season, arsenic their drivers are intimately matched, and it would undermine nan accuracy pinch which they spell racing, and nan pledges they person made to both.

Having said that, location is nary grounds astatine each to propose McLaren "threw distant nan chance of a triumph by not applying squad orders" connected Sunday successful Imola.

Presumably nan mobility is based connected nan last portion of nan race, aft nan safety-car restart, erstwhile Piastri connected aged tyres was 2nd down Verstappen, and Norris, connected caller rubber, was third.

The mobility implies that had McLaren ordered them to move positions immediately, Norris would person beaten Verstappen to nan win.

But why should anyone presume Norris would decidedly person passed Verstappen had he been down him astatine nan restart?

They were connected tyres of adjacent life and overtaking is difficult astatine Imola. And astatine nary shape successful nan title did either McLaren driver look for illustration they had nan gait to situation Verstappen erstwhile he was ahead.

Piastri kept up pinch him successful nan first stint for a while, but began to driblet back, and pitted early because his tyres were going off. And Norris made nary crushed connected Verstappen erstwhile he was clear of George Russell's Mercedes.

The McLaren and Red Bull were very evenly matched successful Imola - McLaren's chances of nan triumph were efficaciously gone erstwhile Piastri had mislaid nan lead astatine nan first corner.

Stella said: "We attempted to unlock various scenarios to effort to hit Max, but astatine nary shape I deliberation we saw that we had capable title pace.

"Even pinch nan last information car, Lando could walk Oscar and effort to push arsenic overmuch arsenic possible. Pretty overmuch Max was responding to Lando. So present to overtake you request [a capacity advantage of] 0.7-0.8secs. So I deliberation it is what it is. The main facet remains nan switch of position and nan result of thigh one."

Are we starting to spot Adrian Newey's power astatine Aston Martin pinch their latest upgrade packages? - Tim

Aston Martin person been keen to play down nan thought of Newey having immoderate engagement successful nan 2025 car since he joined astatine nan opening of March, emphasising that his privilege is nan caller rules being introduced adjacent year.

But successful an question and reply published connected nan team's website starring up to Imola, Newey said he had been progressive to immoderate extent.

"Lawrence [Stroll - squad owner] understandably wants america to do arsenic good arsenic we tin successful 2025, truthful there's a mini squad still moving connected this year's car from an aerodynamics constituent of view," Newey said.

"I've had a fewer lunchtime conversations pinch that mini group, discussing nan car and what we tin do astir it."

So, nan short reply is, yes.

Aston Martin opportunity nan ground of nan upgrade package introduced past play was laid retired astir nan clip of nan Australian Grand Prix - soon aft Newey joined. There is nary proposal he was heavy progressive successful it.

But if Newey tin spot immoderate low-hanging consequence and easy wins connected nan 2025 car, why would he not opportunity so? He's successful nan factory, aft all. And it seems that is what is happening, without distracting him excessively overmuch from adjacent year.

Having said that, it is important not to overstate nan effect of nan Imola upgrade.

Yes, nan squad had their champion qualifying capacity of nan twelvemonth truthful far, pinch Fernando Alonso 5th connected nan grid and Lance Stroll eighth.

But location were a number of factors successful that. For one, they sewage their tyre strategy right, utilizing some mean and soft tyres successful qualifying successful a measurement nary different squad did.

It would beryllium wrong, though, to opportunity their places were wholly down to utilizing mediums for their last runs successful Q2 and Q3 because, arsenic Alonso said, they were speedy connected some types of tyres.

Both drivers nailed their laps, which has not ever been nan lawsuit this year.

And Imola was a high-speed circuit, nan type wherever nan Aston Martin has been astir astatine location this year.

In raw-pace terms, this was nan closest they person been to rod successful 2025, astatine 101.019%.

But it was only somewhat amended than Japan (101.051%) and Saudi Arabia (101.156%), astatine some of which Alonso qualified 13th.

So, it was encouraging, but - astatine slightest not yet - a wholly caller dawn.

Alonso described nan capacity arsenic "definitely a measurement forward" aft nan race, but he had besides been cautious aft qualifying, saying: "We request to support nan feet connected nan ground, and possibly nan way characteristics, it does thief nan Aston, truthful we'll request to spot successful Monaco and Barcelona."

Why a virtual information car for Esteban Ocon's status and nan afloat information for Kimi Antonelli's erstwhile they stopped successful nan aforesaid place? - Darren

On nan look of it, these 2 scenarios did look to propose nan benignant of inconsistency that drivers and teams are asking nan FIA to avoid.

In fact, nan different responses were a consequence of them stopping successful nan aforesaid place, nan FIA says.

Both stopped connected nan writer connected nan left-hand broadside of nan way connected nan tally uphill from Tosa to Piratella. Ocon's Haas was rolled backwards down nan elevation to nan nearest marshals' post, wherever it was placed retired of threat down a barrier.

This was a comparatively easy occupation that could beryllium done quickly - hence nan virtual information car.

But it meant that erstwhile Antonelli's Mercedes stopped successful much aliases little nan aforesaid spot - really a small further connected - location was nary abstraction for it successful nan marshals' station down it, because Ocon's car was already there.

That meant it needed to beryllium pushed uphill to nan adjacent marshals' post, and that needed a betterment vehicle. And it took astir 5 minutes for nan betterment conveyance to get there.

The beingness of nan betterment vehicle, and nan longer delay, meant it tipped nan request complete to a afloat information car, successful nan title director's view.

During Imola qualifying, some Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto wholly trashed their respective cars. Less than 24hrs later, they commencement nan race. Is it a wholly caller car? Complete/partial rebuild? Can they activity connected them overnight? Spare parts pinch nan teams aliases bits flown in? What are nan rules of nan game? - Keith

Tsunoda's car required a caller chassis, and Red Bull besides fitted a caller engine. But location were rather a fewer parts that were still capable to beryllium carried over, nan squad say, contempt nan unit of nan accident.

Red Bull were up until 2am fixing it. There is simply a curfew overnight, to guarantee unit get capable rest, but if needed teams tin break this - they person 3 exemptions passim nan twelvemonth earlier receiving a penalty.

In this case, while Red Bull were astatine nan way extracurricular nan curfew hours, they did not break it because they withdrew nan car from what is known arsenic parc ferme - a regularisation that intends changes cannot beryllium made betwixt qualifying and race. And if they are, nan car starts from nan pit lane.

Colapinto's clang was obscurity adjacent arsenic big, and Alpine did not alteration his chassis, nor did they fresh a caller engine. But they changed a adjacent number of parts, specified arsenic wholly caller beforehand (but not rear) suspension, and a bunch of different parts, which were listed connected charismatic documents.

Teams are not allowed to return a afloat assembled spare car, but they tin return a spare chassis, and nan parts needed to make a caller car.

Get successful touch

Send america your mobility for F1 analogous Andrew Benson