Stella fears Ferrari’s comeback
Ferrari will start from the third row in the Zandvoort GP. A result that team principal Frederic Vasseur described as disappointing and that certainly makes the weekend uphill for the Maranello men, considering the overtaking difficulties on the Dutch track.
Read more Russell: “I could have been on pole, but it is important that Ferrari is behind”
Ferrari’s hopes concern the new floor, which could provide more significant feedback in race pace than in a single lap. This is clear from the words of Charles Leclerc but also from those of rivals, such as McLaren team principal Andrea Stella. For the “great former,” the Red could have the best pace among the top teams and make it count in today’s afternoon race.
Stella’s words
“I think Ferrari’s times in the FP1 long runs were the best. And probably in the Sprint Leclerc was the best in terms of pace. I’m not sure if this is related to the choice of soft tires or simply because Ferrari has the fastest car in terms of pace,” these are Stella’s words.
Read more Ferrari: in Zandvoort it is third row but the update is not to be thrown away, on the contrary
After the Hungary weekend (which would have resulted in an easy one-two without Oscar Piastri’s technical problem) and yesterday’s pole position, it would be easy for McLaren to think that the package introduced a month ago has definitively turned the season around. Stella, however, warns: “Although very competitive in qualifying, we saw in the Sprint that there is still work to be done on degradation and tire conditions. When we introduced the update for Hungary, we knew it would be more advantageous for high-speed sections. In a way, the extent to which this is materializing at Zandvoort is almost beyond expectations. We did not expect to be as competitive as we seem to be in qualifying in turn-7 and turn-8. But on this track, the low-speed deficit is partially compensated in qualifying by new soft tires. In the race it will be more difficult, it cannot be compensated with tire grip but only with aerodynamics“.
Anyway, track position counts a lot at Zandvoort, if it is true that, since it returned to the calendar, the poleman has always won the race. Stella hopes that the 2026 edition will be no exception, and that McLaren can return to winning two GPs in a row.
