McLaren boss Andrea Stella thinks that Max Verstappen’s choice of rear wing at this weekend’s Formula 1 British Grand Prix will not compromise his race and enable him to remain a threat.
The Dutchman stormed to pole position at Silverstone on Saturday, shocking the Woking-based squad, when it seemed that Ferrari would be its most likely challenger.
Red Bull had eradicated the understeering issues that plagued Verstappen across Friday’s free practice stints, taking pole from Oscar Piastri by a tenth of a second, with Lando Norris third.
Verstappen’s remarkable final run may have been assisted by the adoption of a skinnier rear wing, providing a reduction in drag, in conjunction with the RB21’s propensity to perform better on circuits with higher-speed corners.
However, the downside of a skinny wing is the likelihood of quicker tyre degradation, which would force Verstappen into shorter stints and therefore more stops.
But Stella, speaking to media including Motorsport Week, explained how the strong Silverstone gusts will be perhaps a benefit for such a choice.
“The more wind you have, the less susceptible you are, because the car is just more stable, because you have more load,” he said.
“That’s what the drivers have always reported, even during this race weekend. That’s what drivers normally report when there is a gusty wind.
“This is also why pretty much during every single out-lapping qualifying, you might have heard on the radio, I’m not sure if it was broadcasted, that we were giving our drivers the situation with the wind, whether it had changed compared to the previous run.”
Flat out corners and wind direction makes skinny wing ‘interesting selection’
Stella continued that the rear wing decision was perhaps an intelligent one, given a choice of a thicker one would have been detrimental to a car’s performance between the old first corner Copse, and the Maggotts/Becketts complex.
“I think the rear wing situation here in relation to the wind, if anything, is interesting, because with the direction of the wind, the high speed was relatively easy, easy flat, let me say,” he said.
“So you could afford a smaller wing, because otherwise you would have lost too long, too much time in the very long run from the outside corner 7 until corner 15.
“Because Copse is flat, and Becketts is just a couple of lifts, and then you are flat again. So a very interesting event from a rear wing selection point of view.
“It definitely, I have to say, has been one of the main conversations in terms of setup optimisation in our group.”
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