McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes the soaring temperatures at COTA could give McLaren an edge in the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix Sprint.
The papaya squad looked set for a front row lock-out but was thwarted by a late lap from Max Verstappen, which saw the Red Bull man take pole position.
Verstappen, provided he gets a good start, will be in a good position to take victory in the 19-lap race, but he, like all drivers, will face the struggles of the extreme temperatures.
The FIA has already declared a heat hazard, with temperatures expected to reach 34 degrees for qualifying, which could give some teams, like McLaren, an advantage, given its nous with controlling tyre temperatures.
But Stella is in no doubt that Red Bull has got itself right back into contention by making vast improvements to its RB21.
“I think this is actually a relatively genuine representation of the competitive field being very close at the top,” he told Sky F1.
“It confirms that Red Bull have definitely improved their car. They are competitive now and can fight for victories and pole position on every kind of circuit.
“It’s also positive to see that our car here is competitive compared to some other venues in which we struggled a little bit.
“It’s not the result we wanted – we are here for pole positions, obviously – but I think it’s a good foundation for the sprint race tomorrow and also a good foundation to see where we can finetune the performance a little bit and give it another go at the pole position tomorrow.”
High tyre degradation could give McLaren an advantage over Verstappen
Stella, however, believes that the hot weather is going to give the MCL39 an advantage once the cars are out on track.
“Here in Austin we should observe more tyre degradation,” he said. “The conditions are very hot. I think we come from races where it was a little bit of a procession because there wasn’t much tyre degradation.
“I would expect here that the race or the sprint may be more entertaining and there could be more variability based on the behaviour of the tyres. Normally our car is decent when there is tyre degradation.”
Stella acknowledged that one-lap pace has been somewhat of an Achilles’ heel sometimes this year, but is confident that the temperatures and its overall race pace will give them Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri the edge.
“We struggled the whole year with our qualifying pace, especially when it’s close,” he said. “That’s why I think I would say not surprised.
“But we have more hopes for the race that we can get back ahead. Normally our race pace is a bit better.”
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