(Motorsport-Total.com) – Even though Formula 1 generates a huge amount of data and teams would prefer to have everything completely under control, there are always moments and situations where drivers and engineers are completely surprised. It is not always explainable to them why a race unfolds the way it does.
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One such case was the weekend in Zandvoort. In the monotonous sprint on Saturday, Lando Norris was the only driver in the top 15 who lost a position against a competitor after the first lap. And somewhat surprisingly, this only happened towards the end of the sprint against Charles Leclerc, who, alongside Oliver Bearman, was the only driver running on soft tires.
Normally, one would assume that the sprint is a preview of the Grand Prix, but on Sunday it was the reigning world champion who showed endurance in the battle with championship leader Kimi Antonelli and was able to overtake him on lap 53.
At that time, both drivers were on hard tires – and while they had not worked for his teammate Oscar Piastri earlier, Norris seemed to show strong pace with them. It was different for Antonelli, who complained about “aero degradation.” His car seemed to be getting slower.
Mercedes puzzled by pace drop
“It was a difficult second half for me. Especially in the last stint on the hard tires, I really struggled,” the Italian laments and says that at that time he had little confidence in the car, which surprised him quite a bit.
“It was really strange because I felt good on the medium,” he says. “On the first set of hards, it felt decent, but on the second it was just extremely weird – really strange to drive and a lot of sliding. That is definitely something we need to look at because the pace drop was quite drastic.”
Mercedes did not have an answer to the sudden problems with the second set of hard tires shortly after the race: “No idea at all,” said Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff on Sky. “We discussed it, we changed nothing, so it’s baffling.”
Zandvoort: Driver ratings by Marc Surer and the editorial team
“The car was fast enough to win, but then on the hards it suddenly went backwards. For both drivers, maybe even worse for Kimi,” the Austrian speculated.
However, Norris was able to strongly attack on the second set of hards, which he put on a few laps after Antonelli, and beat the Italian with a great maneuver, laying the foundation for the victory.
But where was the difference to the sprint, where McLaren lost pace during the race – and also to the first stint, where Mercedes was faster?
Stella: Hard tires are Norris’ strength
According to McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, the tires at the Zandvoort weekend were not “straightforward” – meaning somewhat difficult to understand and quirky. “Some teams were very good on the softs. I think we were somewhat better on the hard tires. And at times the tires just completely fell off, as happened in the second stint with Oscar,” he said on Sky.
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On mediums and softs, McLaren had a pace disadvantage, “but on the hard tires, in my opinion, Lando had a certain extra in understanding how to use this compound,” he emphasizes. “The tires offered a lot of potential, but it was not easy to tap into it.”
Stella says that exactly with such tires, which actually do not offer much grip, all of Norris’ talent comes into play. “We saw it with Antonelli and also in Oscar’s second stint that it was sometimes difficult to get them up to temperature. But I think when Lando has to deal with hard and slippery tires, then that is somewhat his terrain.”
“I think Lando probably just did a better job from this perspective than anyone else and deserved the win,” he praises.
Norris: Getting the right feel on hard tires
Norris himself says that in the crucial laps on Sunday he also had the knowledge that he could win the race. “I didn’t have that yesterday,” he admits. Even before the race and especially after the lost start, he actually did not believe in the win with regard to the sprint.
“I just know that if the car gives me what I need, and I am driving on the level I am now, then I can win races. And that is exactly what I did not have in the first stint – I did not have from the car what I wanted,” he describes.
But when McLaren switched to the hard tires, the feeling came back. Norris at least had the hope to force Antonelli into a mistake and thus regain first place. “He started making a lot more mistakes when I was behind him,” says Norris.
“We forced Mercedes to act strategically. That gave us the opportunity to push and extend the stint,” he continues. This then naturally also increased the tire delta compared to Antonelli in the second hard stint.
“So if I get what I need from a car – if I have the front axle I want, if I have confidence in the rear axle when turning in – in short: if I get what I need to know and anticipate every single corner, then I will win a race,” Norris makes clear.
“But if I don’t have that, like in the first stint, then I can’t do much.”
Norris is fourth in the drivers’ championship after his second consecutive win. However, he is still 83 points behind Antonelli.
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