McLaren: Miami a ‘reality check’ after Baku points

McLaren says that the Formula 1 round from Miami was a “reality check” for the team after it scored points in Baku.

The Woking-based squad endured a difficult weekend last time out in the USA, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri eliminated in Q1 on Saturday.

The duo also struggled in the race and crossed the finished line towards the rear of the field.

Norris stated after the race that there were “different reasons” behind its lack of pace.

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“The track doesn’t suit us, longer corners don’t suit us, the temperatures don’t suit us,” he said. “The track surface doesn’t suit us. There’s many different aspects to it all.”

McLaren’s dip in form at Miami came despite a series of upgrades that were introduced in Baku, where Norris finished in ninth place.

Team boss Andreas Stella says that the event in Miami bumped his squad back down to earth.

“The main takeaway is that after a decent weekend in Baku from a performance point of view, we had a reality check,” he said. 

“The information we gained here helps us understand that some development directions still need to be pursued, like improving the car in off-brakes, off-throttle. 

“At the moment, the car just doesn’t work in this condition. At tracks like this, this becomes too much of a limitation. So we take away some important learnings for development. 

McLaren’s day was also hindered by a brake-by-wire issue for Oscar Piastri.

“He needed to drive the entire race with a problem on the brake by wire [hydraulic system],” Stella said. “Oscar was excellent in being able to cope with it. 

“After having locked the tyres for three or four times, he kind of realised how we needed to adapt the way he was braking to this issue. So we have a learning from a performance point of view. We have learning from a reliability point of view.”

McLaren started both of its drivers on the Soft compound with the hope of making up some early positions on track.

Norris overtake several cars on the run into the first corner before he was hit by Nyck de Vries.

“Ultimately, this weekend, in the race we would have needed a good start. This was actually in place. Lando gained a few positions,” Stella commented. 

“But then he was hit by de Vries. This meant that from potentially P13 or something, he was again finding himself at the back of the group. 

“We would have needed today high degradation on tyres because we had allocated two hard tyres, but actually the degradation wasn’t as high as expected. 

“So one stop was possible for everyone. It was relatively easy. We would have needed today some events in the race, a safety car or so, but nothing happened. 

“So the limitations for a performance point of view could not overcome thanks to some situational elements and we go away with no points.”