McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes Lando Norris' continued success at the Dutch Grand Prix 'adds substance' to the improved performance trend seen across recent Formula 1 weekends.
Norris backed up his victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix with a strong performance in the Zandvoort sprint race, before taking pole position for Sunday's race. The upturn in form came after McLaren introduced its major aerodynamic upgrade.
“I think it's a very positive qualifying session, not only for the qualifying itself here in Zandvoort, but it confirms the pole position we scored in Hungary, so it kind of gives a bit of substance to a trend,” said Stella. “We can see that the car works well in high downforce. We seem to see that it works well with a new soft, a lot of grip coming from the tyres.
“But at the same time, we have to say that the Sprint told us that we have to improve the car on used tyres, and reduce tyre degradation if we want to be competitive tomorrow.”
Norris was joined in the top four by Oscar Piastri, who completes the second row of the grid as the two Mercedes drivers slot between the pair. “In terms of Oscar, I think he's driving very well this weekend,” added Stella. “We're talking about one, one and a half tenths in terms of gap. Oscar loses this time in a couple of corners, so he's actually very concentrated, and he is much happier with his performance and his interaction with the car than he was in Hungary.”
Setting an ambitious target for the race, Stella said: “We definitely enter the race with a view to go for a double podium. I think Oscar is there in terms of pace, but you know, if you ask me who was the fastest after the sprint, I would have said Charles Leclerc, and Leclerc is not too far [behind].”
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