The head of McLaren F1 Andrea Stella has refuted claims made by Mercedes Toto Wolff claiming the Working team had improved its lap times by one second as a result of recent significant modifications.
McLaren unveiled the first two phases of a crucial three-stage overhaul at the most recent Austrian and British Grands Prix, which will result in “pretty much every aerodynamic part on the car changing.”
Despite the fact that the final parts that were supposed to be ready for last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix have been put off due to production and design schedules, Norris has placed second to overwhelming winner Max Verstappen in the last two races.
The team principal of the eight-time constructors championship squad, Wolff, believed his rivals had gained a second each lap, which allowed McLaren to defeat Mercedes.
The Austrian said:
“You can see how McLaren has leapfrogged everybody else with an update – they didn’t expect to come in that powerful.
Whatever it was, they gained a second probably. And they leapfrogged Aston Martin and Ferrari, who we’ve seen as really strong contenders at the beginning of the season, and now they’re nowhere.”
Stella did not publicly disclose the lap time that the MCL60 tweaks had found. But he believed Wolff had inflated the improvements.
Stella commented following the most recent Budapest bout. In which Oscar Piastri placed fifth after falling victim to floor damage and losing to Norris via the undercut.
Stella said.
“In fairness, we haven’t done a proper numerical estimate.
We had our own internal estimate based on what we saw in the aerodynamic maps. And then you simulate these and this gives you a number, which I cannot share really, but it wasn’t one second.
So, I think, somehow the behavior’s of your car and the development of your car kind of helps with tyres at the same time.
This gives you further lap time benefit.”
While McLaren had downplayed its hopes for Hungary due to the slower-paced track’s nature. Stella has once more tried to check expectations ahead of this weekend’s Belgian GP.
He claims McLaren still has to get better in slow-speed corners.
Suggested Read: Valorant pro suffers injury while playing badminton
