Monaco Qualifying, McLaren Eclipsed
The outcome of the Monte Carlo Qualifying is clear for McLaren, and it certainly doesn’t smile upon them: fourth row, with a worrying gap of six tenths from Kimi Antonelli‘s pole position. A very disappointing result in relation to the growth seen in Miami and the desire for redemption following the unfortunate management of the Montreal GP. The world champions, however, have never shone, and will most likely celebrate their 1000th GP in a subdued manner. For team principal Andrea Stella, the Monegasque track has exposed the flaws of the papaya project, which now needs to take flight thanks to important and targeted developments.
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Stella’s Words
“We expected it to be difficult on this circuit, due to two main technical factors: the first is that we know we have poor overall grip at chassis level and we want to improve the generated downforce; the second is that the MCL40, partly by design choice and partly because we also want to improve this aspect, is very delicate on the tires. And when there are events where it is necessary to be good at transferring energy and heat into the tires, we encounter some difficulties,” was his comment. “That said, in terms of result, I was hoping to get at least one car on the third row, and it’s a bit disappointing that we didn’t succeed. I believe that, thanks to the improvements made from Friday to today, the car actually had the potential to qualify on the third row, but especially in Q3 it was a bit difficult to put all that potential together.”
“I think it’s fair to say that this circuit has highlighted the weaknesses of our car at the moment. We know that compared to the level we would like to be at with our car, we are a bit behind. This means it would be wrong to think that, by going to a circuit with different characteristics, McLaren will fight for pole position. I think that’s a bit too optimistic. We know we have great opportunities in terms of improving the car’s aerodynamics and how it interacts with the tires. It’s up to us to capitalize on these opportunities,” he added.
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The Drivers’ Words
The drivers are in line with the team principal. For Lando Norris, “there have been difficulties all weekend, and in Q2 we only looked strong because others wanted to be more cautious, while we were already at full throttle.” Oscar Piastri, who beat the world champion, emphasizes that “there’s a lack of grip, but I got the maximum out of the car.”
