McLaren boss Andrea Stella has revealed the reason why the team opted to use “slightly used tyres” in qualifying for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.
Lando Norris vindicated the decision by claiming a brilliant pole position, snatching it from Charles Leclerc with just seconds to go.
The pole would not only be a relief for Norris, taking his first since Australia, but also for the team, which underwhelmed at Imola and also faced the possibility of being outdone by Ferrari, as Leclerc had previously topped every free practice session prior to the race.
Speaking to select media, including Motorsport Week, Stella revealed the reason why it opted for this strategy, saying that “slightly used” tyres were more grippy, giving them an advantage.
“During qualifying, we found that we managed to extract some decent performance out of the very first lap of the C6 compound, but the C6 compound keeps being relatively tricky when the rubber is new.
“So while we were doing decent lap times in the very first, actually both our drivers felt that the tyre was easier to exploit when it was slightly used so we wanted to make sure that we had the opportunity in Q3 to do not only a single run or two runs of a single lap, but because here the lap is short and you can have a one plus three, we wanted to do the one plus three in order to have the second lap of the second run on a slightly used rubber.
“And in fact, that ended up being the fastest lap for both Oscar and Lando. It’s a small deviation compared to a one-plus-one run, but I also saw cars doing warm-up laps so there were various options. But for us it was clear that our car and our drivers were getting the best when the rubber was slightly used.”
Can Norris convert pole into season-recovering win?
Speaking to media, including Motorsport Week, after qualifying, Norris said that the team “stuck to” its plan of completing its second run in Q3 with two different sets of tyres, adding: “And we did what was right. So I’m happy with what we chose to do.”
Norris could claw further back into the title race with a win, one which would surely be the best of his career to date, and which would come at a perfect time for him, given his own circumstances after a tricky 2025.
The two-stop rule introduced by the FIA has the front-runners feeling edgier than they normally would, given a Safety Car or any other potential race truncation will enable cars further back to have a better chance of unpicking the lock of Monaco.
With pole position, Norris must surely feel not only the pressure of his title chances depending on victory – with team-mate Oscar Piastri directly behind him in third, but will also feel the weight of a partisan crowd willing on Leclerc to take a second consecutive home win.
READ MORE – How Lando Norris banished qualifying demons to take Monaco F1 pole
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