Andrea Stella is convinced McLaren F1 has a clear advantage on high-downforce circuits, with the team principal pointing out that Hungary and Zandvoort, two twisty circuits, saw the team dominate in a similar way to Singapore this weekend.
“I think if I look at previous races, at this high level of downforce, we seem to be very competitive.” Stella said. “So I think it has more to do with the level of downforce than just trying to get the most out of the car.”
“But I think the car has been strong in this setup. I always cite the examples of Hungary and Zandvoort. Even Hungary was a relatively dominant win in itself, like Zandvoort and like this. So I think right now it’s more than the car and this setup.”
The Italian believes Ferrari would have been a real threat without a failed qualifying: “Red Bull showed that on a circuit where they thought they were not very competitive, they were actually potentially the second best.”
“Ferrari seem to be as quick as us and Leclerc’s last stint was very competitive. So I think the race can give us a little boost, I guess you could say that. From a competitiveness point of view, I would say we have to continue to be aggressive in terms of development.”
According to Stella, McLaren’s advantage lies in overall aero efficiency, also explaining its better versatility: “I think it has the best aerodynamic efficiency across the grid, whereas at low drag I think the efficiency of Ferrari and Red Bull is much more comparable to our car.”
“We certainly know that we have invested a lot more at this level of downforce than we have done at a lower downforce. Although I have said it before after races like Spa and Monza, we have definitely made a step forward in terms of retaining downforce when we reduce the level of drag.”
