Ferrari qualifying out of position really flattered McLaren. This win wouldn't have been anywhere near as dominant if Leclerc had been in P2.SilviuAgo wrote: ↑23 Sep 2024, 12:29Very good article by Marc Hughes:
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/mark ... periority/
There was a moment, four-five laps into the race, where up and down the pitwall there was general surprise that he was pushing as hard as he was, almost two seconds ahead of Max Verstappen by the end of the fifth lap.
Surely he was pressing the medium tyre too hard for the optimum strategy? Except that he wasn’t pushing. He was at this point just waiting for his tyres to come fully up to temperature. Even doing this he was pulling away from the Red Bull at 0.5s per lap. Which in turn was well clear of the two Mercedes.
It was lap nine when Norris was told he could begin to push. He duly lapped a full 1s faster than Verstappen. That’s how far ahead the MCL38 was around here, a high-downforce track where it’s all about balance and driveability.
Was McLaren the fastest in the race? Probably.
Was Norris 1 second per lap faster than the competition on the mediums because the McLaren had an extra second of pace over every other team? Almost certainly not.