McLaren claimed their first Formula One constructors’ title since 1998 at the 2024 season finale. This year its been a relative stroll in the park for the Woking based team, having retained the championship with six races remaining.

Yet it was not plain sailing on the run in last season, given Ferrari who were 74 points behind after the Singapore Grand Prix closed the gap to just 14 come the chequered fag in Abu Dhabi. McLaren failed to score in the Sau Paulo event and next time out in Las Vegas where the MCL38 struggled in the cold of the Nevada desert night.

The design philosophy of the recent breed of McLaren F1 cars has seen them dominant when the ambient and track temperatures are high, as their car manages the temperatures better than the resit of the field. This means Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris can run longer stints than their rivals which opens up greater strategic options as well as having the effect of giving them the best race pace.

 

 

 

Norris could claim title in Vegas

The reverse happens in the cold and in Vegas track temperature is the lowest of the season, often ducking into mid-single digits. And for this reason Lando Norris has admitted he is less than optimistic about his and the team’s chances in Sin City.

With a 49 point lead over Max Verstappen and a 24 point advantage over his team mate, Norris could theoretically claim his maiden F1 title in Las Vegas if he extends his lead to more than 57 points. However, Norris believes the race along The Strip may expose the weakness of the McLaren F1 car design philosophy as it did last year.

With the tyres graining due to the lack of temperature and low grip, McLaren endured its second worst weekend of the 2024 season with both Norris and Piastri finishing outside the top five with Lando describing the Grand Prix as like “driving a road car.”

Despite a much more dominant season this year, Norris is concerned the circuit’s characteristics and cold temperatures (as low as 5°C) will once again be problematic.

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Lando: “not looking forward” to Vegas

When asked whether Les Vegas would help or hinder their car,Norris was adamant: “Hinder, for sure. I think it was our worst race last year, so I’m not really looking forward to it.

“We’ve been trying to work quite hard on improving those things. We know Mercedes were incredibly strong there last year, as well as Red Bull and Ferrari. I think we were the bottom of those four.”

The opening round in Bahrain was in fact McLaren’s worst race of the 2024 season where Lando andOscar qualified just 7th and 8th. In this race Lando made up a place on his starting position while Piastri remained where he started.

Of course the MCL39 has been a different beast form its predecessor as Norris observes. “Obviously, we’ve improved a lot of things this year, so I’m not going to be too negative about it. We know Abu Dhabi and Qatar are ones we are looking forward to. Las Vegas just a little bit less, because they’ve been probably some of our weakest races over the last two years. So let’s wait and see.”

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Too cold for McLaren car

Norris was then pressed on whether his negative outlook for Vegas reflected a cautious mindset given his position in the race for the F1 drivers’ championship. “I can say what I want. I can think what I want. I always try and be as honest as I can be. If I don’t think we’re going to be quick, I don’t think we’re going to be quick,” he replied.

“And I’m not saying I’m going to be 10th I’m just saying I think it’s going to be difficult to win. We were a long way off [last year] just go and look at the data. We were miles off.” Lando went on to observe that despite dominating the championship this season, McLaren have not had the fastest car at a number of the race weekends.

“There have been plenty of races where we’ve not been quick enough this year. It’s not like we’ve won every single race. I’m just giving my opinion on whether I think it’s going to be easy.” He pointed out in Mexico he had won by over 30 seconds but come Brazil despite Max Verstappen starting from the pit lane, Lando’s win was by just 10 seconds in Brazil.

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Norris mood music changed

“We’ve never been good in Vegas, so why am I going to think, ‘Yeah, it’s going to be fine’? I’m giving my honest opinion. Maybe I’ll win then we’ll see,” he grinned. “But I’m not going to lie and say, ‘Yeah, I’m very confident, and I think it’s going to be an easy weekend,’ because I don’t think that’s how it’s going to be.”

The mood music around Lando Norris assessment of his racing has changed significantly since the summer break. Previously he would present to the media as hyper-self critical even if he had just claimed pole position.

In Jeddah back in April, Norris called himself an “idiot” over team radio after crashing his MCL39 in qualifying. When asked if he stood by the remark after the session, Lando was candid: ”Makes sense. I agree with it. Should be fighting for pole,” he said after coming tenth.

“I shunted so I’m not going to be proud, I’m not going to be happy. I have let myself down and let the team down,” added Norris, suggesting he took unnecessary”silly risks.”

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Positive despite messy weekend

Yet after a messy weekend in Baku where his team mate leading the drivers’ title race crashed on lap one, Norris was philosophical about the missed opportunity to significantly close down the 31 point gap to his team mate. Lando finished in P7, but refused to criticise his efforts.

“I did everything I can,” he said. “The opportunities were there every weekend. Every race I finished second or worse this year was an opportunity lost. … I don’t really care how people look at it. It was just too difficult to follow and overtake, so it didn’t really matter how quick the car was. We couldn’t really do anything with strategy, so I don’t think we could have done anything more today.”

The self flagellation is now gone from Lando’s rhetoric and in that time he has turned around a 34 point gap to his team mate and now sits favourite for his maiden F1 title, 24 points ahead of Piastri.

 

 

 

Former Ferrari driver gives shock advice to Leclerc over dealing with Ferrari chairman

Leclerc should stand up to Ferrari – Following Ferrari’s disappointing performance in Brazil, the team’s internal drama has suddenly become public knowledge. John Elkann was forthright in his criticism of his two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, in front of the Italian media. Now, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has weighed in, suggesting that Leclerc in particular shouldn’t simply nod politely and accept the criticism.

“If I were Charles Leclerc, I’d definitely ask what this is all about,” Schumacher told Sky. “I think he’s doing a fantastic job and getting the best out of both the team and himself. Plus, he’s a likeable guy who fits right in at Ferrari. He’s a family man and is getting married soon. I’d send my manager over to ask him what it’s all about.”

Schumacher’s advice is clear: don’t just take it on the chin. Reflecting on his own racing career — 180 starts in F1 between 1997 and 2007 — he adds: ‘In such a situation, I would always come up with a plan B with my manager, and I would do the same in his place now because I wouldn’t let myself be taken for a ride.’… READ MORE