Team principal Andrea Stella reveals: How McLaren secured the Zandvoort victory

When Lando Norris was asked about his chances of victory ahead of the start of the Grand Prix at Zandvoort, his assessment was down-to-earth. And with good reason: although the Formula 1 World Champion had secured a place on the front row by setting the second-fastest time in the sprint qualifying session, in the race he was pipped to the post by Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, who was unstoppable on the soft tyres.

Norris, who managed to hold on to third place at the finish, was understandably cautious about the 72-lap Grand Prix, which he was set to start from pole position. “I don’t expect it to be a race like the one in Budapest; I think it will be a much bigger challenge,” he explained after securing pole position for the Grand Prix.

He initially lost the lead during the race, but still crossed the line first after 72 laps. Team principal Andrea Stella emphasised: “Lando was right in his assumption that it wouldn’t be an easy race. Our race pace in Hungary was much more promising. In the Sprint, we didn’t have the fastest car; Ferrari had the edge there.”

“The field is very closely matched, which is great for Formula 1, and of course it’s also good that McLaren is among the teams capable of fighting for victory. Credit is due to the team and the drivers, because after the sprint we made a few adjustments to the car, and the drivers also implemented a few changes to their driving style to manage the tyres differently during the race, and that paid off. Seen in that light, it was a well-deserved victory, considering how much work went into it and where we were in the sprint,” added the Italian.

“Lando managed the tyres better than any of the other drivers, so he deserved the win,” the engineer said, praising his protégé. However, he did not want to discuss the chance of successfully defending the World Championship title in both categories. “First, we need to have several more weekends like this, and I’d rather focus on getting those right and bringing further upgrades to the car. If we manage that and are performing well, then we can look at the championship standings. But Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes deserve to be leading the championship standings. We’ll have to do better if we want to stand up to them.”

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