“The situation is undeniably challenging, marked by exceptionally poor traction. The sensation is akin to being able to navigate the course more swiftly in a standard road vehicle than with our current machinery…”
Such was the degree of dissatisfaction voiced by Lando Norris concerning his McLaren Formula 1 vehicle following trial runs for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The competition held in Nevada proved to be among the least successful events of McLaren’s season, despite their aspirations for the championship, as both Norris and Piastri failed to secure positions within the top five on either the Saturday or Sunday races, further complicated by a seven-tenths setback during qualifying.
Facing significant difficulties with the accumulation of rubber debris on their Pirelli tires, both competitors completed the race more than 40 seconds adrift of the victor, George Russell. Nevertheless, Norris managed to reduce this gap to just 27 seconds prior to a concluding pit stop, which facilitated his acquisition of the fastest-lap point.
Las Vegas is slated to be a pivotal juncture in the 2025 championship, considering that Max Verstappen has narrowed his deficit to fewer than 40 points relative to the McLaren drivers in the championship standings, ensuring his continued competitiveness regardless of the outcome at the forthcoming Interlagos round.
Andrea Stella, the team principal for McLaren, anticipates a marked enhancement in their performance this time around.
“Vegas, if anything, has demonstrated its potential to present overarching challenges for McLaren,” Stella remarked. “In the previous year, our competitiveness was notably lacking. Consequently, we found it necessary to glean insights, particularly during the race itself, in an effort to implement modifications aimed at mitigating the issue of graining.”
Lando Norris, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren
Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images
“This year, the tires exhibit a significantly reduced propensity for graining compared to the previous year, potentially resulting in a subtly altered dynamic for Vegas. It will be of considerable interest to observe.”
Stella further noted that McLaren intends to place emphasis on optimizing the performance of its vehicle – an objective that, while seemingly straightforward, has presented challenges at times, as evidenced by difficulties encountered at circuits such as Baku.
“I anticipate no impediment for Lando and Oscar stemming from the track configuration of the forthcoming four races,” the Italian official added.
“Our primary focus is to ensure that McLaren is adequately prepared to harness the full spectrum of performance capabilities inherent in the car, mirroring our success in Mexico. We acknowledge reservations regarding our ability to consistently achieve this level of extraction across select preceding races.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
