McLaren boss Andrea Stella has claimed a change in track conditions and caution from both drivers cost the team pole position at Formula 1‘s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Woking-based squad were stunned at the Hungaroring as Charles Leclerc usurped Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to snatch an unexpected top spot in qualifying.
McLaren had appeared braced to log a front-row lockout, having been 1-2 through all three practice sessions and advanced to Q3 with the quickest time in Q1 and Q2.
But while Piastri pipped Norris to earn provisional pole, a sudden swing in wind direction prior to the final timed laps had an ill-timed impact on the McLaren’s balance.
That meant that Piastri was unable to respond to Leclerc beating his initial benchmark, while Norris ended up 0.041 seconds down in third despite improving his time.
“I think it’s an interesting point of conversation in terms of understanding of how things go for a Formula 1 car,” Stella reviewed to media including Motorsport Week.
“Because definitely we had a significant change of conditions. You can see in the video data a steep change in terms of wind direction, wind intensity, temperature, humidity, everything changed.
“And everyone from Q2 up until when we were pretty competitive – we put together definitely strong laps – went slower. We went slower by about half a second, on average.
“Actually, we simulated the change of conditions in our simulations, and it gives a little bit less than that, but about four-tenths of a second.
“But Ferrari and Leclerc managed to go actually faster. So [the] track was definitely slower.”
McLaren drivers took cautious approach with title in mind
But although the weather conditions conspired to disadvantage McLaren, Stella recognised that it wasn’t the sole detail that contributed to the team coming up short.
The Italian suspects Norris and Piastri approached the final laps more reserved with the title in mind, opening the door to Leclerc, who had little to lose in comparison.
“I think for Lando and Oscar, after they had seen in the first run that conditions had changed, that the grip wasn’t what they expected, that every corner was going to be a bit unpredictable, therefore the lap time didn’t come,” he assessed.
“I think in the second set they needed to be a bit cautious. Because when you race for the championship, you want to make sure that you are there.
“I think this is a slightly different approach for Charles. I think he just went for it, like, ‘I don’t think I have much to lose here.’
“And it paid off, and this is a credit and merit to a very good execution by Ferrari and Charles.”
McLaren optimistic on race prospects
Stella has vowed that he never discounted Ferrari despite McLaren’s dominance through practice, though he has backed the side to turn the tables in tomorrow’s race.
“I’ve been saying to some of you already yesterday that Ferrari was in the game,” he stressed.
“Ferrari seemed to be competitive, but at the same time, we are confident that we will have the pace to fight for the victory.”
Meanwhile, Stella dismissed that McLaren has reason to be concerned that grip could again be a premium with temperatures forecasted to remain on the cooler side.
“I think tomorrow, in addition to the wind, there may be some rain around, so actually the situation could be quite a bit more complex than simply adapting to the temperature or adapting to the wind,” he previewed.
“I think once you, from a driving point of view, and from an engineering point of view, once you understand that the wind has a certain pattern, then you can adapt.
“What caught us out a little bit in Q3 is not only the change of wind direction, but the fact that it was a little unclear what actually the grip would have been in every single corner, and like I said before, both drivers, especially in the second run, I think they approached it with some caution.
“But once you sort of know what’s happening, then I think you can start pushing a bit more. Where to push a little bit less, where to push a little bit more, because you’re going to have a bit of headwind, and then I’m kind of optimistic that we will be able to express the pace of the car and the full potential.”
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