Mercedes F1 believes that McLaren especially has an advantage in its concept and its settings to properly optimize the Pirelli tires.
Toto Wolff, the director of the team, underlines how much “Most top teams can challenge the MCL39 for pole position”.
But once the racing pace comes into play, the McLaren can drive on a higher average than its competitors.
“And there, we are simply not as comfortable as them with the tires on a long relay.”
“McLaren shows what it is possible to do, and to a certain extent, I think that Red Bull, with Max at least, manages the situation a little better than us.”
“I would say that we are solid, but they undoubtedly do an excellent job by being able to go fast in turns without overheating them.”
“This is what we have to inspire and find a solution.”
-Asked about the advantage of McLaren after his new double during the Miami Grand Prix, which allowed him to increase his advance at the two championships, Wolff affirms that the bases of this advantage have already been laid last year.
And when asked what McLaren improvements have made it possible to create this gap, he replied: “I don’t know otherwise we would have them too.”
“But I think that if we attach great importance to mechanical development, we get an advantage.”
“It started two years ago in Austria two years ago, with a much larger than expected evolution, and part of their development since has also consisted in maintaining the tires optimally.”
“It is absolutely necessary that we are better. We must simply understand. We must determine what to focus our attention in terms of development. What are the main contributors to performance.”
“And we work there, thoroughly. We work there. We are trying to find solutions. We are starting to identify their advantage and how they managed to get it. This is the good news!
“Now we are experiencing and we are certainly able to evolve towards their level.”
