2023 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[FittingMechanics]

Best chance for victory is if Piastri does a Prost and takes Verstappen out .

Realistically, we are waiting for Verstappen mistake or reliability issue.

Piola seems to think Soft to Hard to Hard is quickest, second is Soft - Hard - Medium. That might give us a slight edge on Red Bull and Ferrari as they have only one hard.

But two stops and an unforgiving track means both the pitstop crew and drivers need to be flawless tomorrow.

[LionsHeart]

Best chance for victory is if Piastri does a Prost and takes Verstappen out .

Realistically, we are waiting for Verstappen mistake or reliability issue.

Piola seems to think Soft to Hard to Hard is quickest, second is Soft - Hard - Medium. That might give us a slight edge on Red Bull and Ferrari as they have only one hard.

But two stops and an unforgiving track means both the pitstop crew and drivers need to be flawless tomorrow.

And I think the fastest is medium-hard-medium.

There are a lot of options because of the two pitstops, but a lot will be decided by race pace and the degree of degradation in each stint.

[LionsHeart]

In qualifying, Red Bull has 335 km/h and McLaren has 330 km/h. The overall difference is about the same as it was at Silverstone. But Max is damn fast on the first sector, so at best the team needs to do the minimum work - to keep the 2nd and 3rd position. It will be very difficult to jump higher, unless Max "doesn't help".

[Farnborough]

They'll have to consider Perez pace in undercut or overcut circumstances, one of them may be bumped from podium at least. Cute strategy needed to reduce risk in this direction.

Guessing, but Mercedes could be closest to them in attempting a one stop long strategy.

Doubt Ferrari would have good enough tyre wear to do one stop, more likely to stay behind as doesn't look pacey enough to out race McL.

[LionsHeart]

They'll have to consider Perez pace in undercut or overcut circumstances, one of them may be bumped from podium at least. Cute strategy needed to reduce risk in this direction.

Guessing, but Mercedes could be closest to them in attempting a one stop long strategy.

Doubt Ferrari would have good enough tyre wear to do one stop, more likely to stay behind as doesn't look pacey enough to out race McL.

I'm not optimistic enough to think one pitstop is possible. But who knows? Suddenly the track will be faster and the tires will be saved by many drivers, that theoretically one pitstop could be counted on. I, as yesterday, keep in mind the difficulties on Friday and a sufficiently high temperature of 28-29 degrees Celsius. So, the majority will opt for two pitstops. Waiting for the fight between the mechanics of the teams.

[mwillems]

Best chance for victory is if Piastri does a Prost and takes Verstappen out .

Realistically, we are waiting for Verstappen mistake or reliability issue.

Piola seems to think Soft to Hard to Hard is quickest, second is Soft - Hard - Medium. That might give us a slight edge on Red Bull and Ferrari as they have only one hard.

But two stops and an unforgiving track means both the pitstop crew and drivers need to be flawless tomorrow.

And I think the fastest is medium-hard-medium.

There are a lot of options because of the two pitstops, but a lot will be decided by race pace and the degree of degradation in each stint.

Well, to add to any confusion, Pirelli, in the video I posted, say that the soft and Medium have very similar Deg....

I don't understand the tyres here this weekend

[mwillems]

In qualifying, Red Bull has 335 km/h and McLaren has 330 km/h. The overall difference is about the same as it was at Silverstone. But Max is damn fast on the first sector, so at best the team needs to do the minimum work - to keep the 2nd and 3rd position. It will be very difficult to jump higher, unless Max "doesn't help".

You're numbers are with two cars with DRS open no tow?


He's quick on exit and if he is behind us he will have DRS and tow. And then there is the fact that his tyres will likely have more life in them as the race goes on. Not to mention the pace over a single lap means it is unlikely we will be able to get anywhere near overtaking him once he gets past us. And that is all if we can get past him at the start. Otherwise without an incident he will have a lonely race.

[mwillems]

They'll have to consider Perez pace in undercut or overcut circumstances, one of them may be bumped from podium at least. Cute strategy needed to reduce risk in this direction.

Guessing, but Mercedes could be closest to them in attempting a one stop long strategy.

Doubt Ferrari would have good enough tyre wear to do one stop, more likely to stay behind as doesn't look pacey enough to out race McL.

I my be proven wrong but I think Ferrari will cook their tyres tomorrow.

I think that unless Perez gets stuck then I think he will get past us too, leaving us with a potential fight with Merc. That said, Ferrari could have a nice fight with Merc and let us get ahead a little.

Safety Car probability – 50%
Virtual Safety Car probability – 33%

A reasonable chance of an incident means that there could be some lucky drivers tomorrow.

[Ben1980]

So, if Perez gets in undercut range if Norris, but not Piastri, assuming they stay 2 and 3, do they pit Norris meaning undercut on Piadtri might be on, but keeps Perez behind both?

[LionsHeart]

Best chance for victory is if Piastri does a Prost and takes Verstappen out .

Realistically, we are waiting for Verstappen mistake or reliability issue.

Piola seems to think Soft to Hard to Hard is quickest, second is Soft - Hard - Medium. That might give us a slight edge on Red Bull and Ferrari as they have only one hard.

But two stops and an unforgiving track means both the pitstop crew and drivers need to be flawless tomorrow.

And I think the fastest is medium-hard-medium.

There are a lot of options because of the two pitstops, but a lot will be decided by race pace and the degree of degradation in each stint.

Well, to add to any confusion, Pirelli, in the video I posted, say that the soft and Medium have very similar Deg....

I don't understand the tyres here this weekend

I'd rather not trust them for now.

Although some teams in practice didn't even test the hard tires. Who knows, maybe they will also slip a lot and the resource will be low?

[LionsHeart]

In qualifying, Red Bull has 335 km/h and McLaren has 330 km/h. The overall difference is about the same as it was at Silverstone. But Max is damn fast on the first sector, so at best the team needs to do the minimum work - to keep the 2nd and 3rd position. It will be very difficult to jump higher, unless Max "doesn't help".

You're numbers are with two cars with DRS open no tow?


He's quick on exit and if he is behind us he will have DRS and tow. And then there is the fact that his tyres will likely have more life in them as the race goes on. Not to mention the pace over a single lap means it is unlikely we will be able to get anywhere near overtaking him once he gets past us. And that is all if we can get past him at the start. Otherwise without an incident he will have a lonely race.

Yeah yeah, that's what I'm assuming.

[LionsHeart]

Oh yeah, I forgot to write something else. I have a hunch that McLaren fell so far behind in qualifying by reconfiguring both cars for the race in order to better conserve tires. I'm not sure if this is actually the case, but given the experience of Silverstone, it could well be.

[Dafnalina]

Oh yeah, I forgot to write something else. I have a hunch that McLaren fell so far behind in qualifying by reconfiguring both cars for the race in order to better conserve tires. I'm not sure if this is actually the case, but given the experience of Silverstone, it could well be.

I don't think they were running a race setup. Maybe Lando who had more downforce. Not sure it'll help much with the tyres, but tyre deg seems to have improved with the upgrades.

I think we're more like Mercedes now, with our race pace being better than our quali pace.

Stella's comments about being disappointed with the huge gap to RB indicate this had nothing to do with setup.

[Dafnalina]

So, if Perez gets in undercut range if Norris, but not Piastri, assuming they stay 2 and 3, do they pit Norris meaning undercut on Piadtri might be on, but keeps Perez behind both?

I personally think they should, like they did in Silverstone, but everyone will have a huge meltdown. I think they won't do it, as they'd rather prioritize Oscar's chance at a first podium.

[LionsHeart]

Oh yeah, I forgot to write something else. I have a hunch that McLaren fell so far behind in qualifying by reconfiguring both cars for the race in order to better conserve tires. I'm not sure if this is actually the case, but given the experience of Silverstone, it could well be.

I don't think they were running a race setup. Maybe Lando who had more downforce. Not sure it'll help much with the tyres, but tyre deg seems to have improved with the upgrades.

I think we're more like Mercedes now, with our race pace being better than our quali pace.

Stella's comments about being disappointed with the huge gap to RB indicate this had nothing to do with setup.

I don't know anything about Lando having more downforce. The rear wing are the same. I didn't pay any attention to the beam wing. It could be, of course. The updates have definitely had a positive effect in terms of better tire handling. Now the tires should not go so quickly as in the first half of the season. But this alone may not be enough here. Here in Suzuka abrasive asphalt, high temperature, a large number of fast corners. Mercedes also experienced wear issues, although their car is generally good in terms of tire wear. The race will tell the whole story. I'm curious myself.