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Criticism of McLaren's communication: 'What was going on back there?'
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers believes that McLaren are not ready to win a championship in Formula 1 after a disappointing weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix. After bringing home a 1-2 in the sprint race at Interlagos, poor communication and some mistakes in the wet conditions meant that Lando Norris could only finish P6, with teammate Oscar Piastri one place behind in seventh.
Norris started the Grand Prix on pole, while championship rival Max Verstappen was stranded all the way back in P17. It looked like the McLaren driver would be able to make some big inroads into the Dutchman's championship lead as the 2024 season headed to the season-ending triple header.
However, the complete opposite happened. Norris, once again, lost his lead at the start, allowing George Russell to come through and take the lead. On the other hand, Verstappen fought all the way up to the points on the opening lap. Only one driver was in the ascendency then, with the Red Bull driver mastering the tough conditions to overtake with ease, while Norris could not make a move on Russell at the front.
Then, poor communication and strategy calls from McLaren meant that Norris was overtaken by Verstappen in the pits, allowing the Dutchman to race on ahead at the front and take a stunning win, while a mistake-filled second half of the race for Norris meant he could only finish in P6, all but ending his championship hopes.
Albers saw a McLaren weakness in the sprint race
It may have been a tough pill to swallow for McLaren post-race, but Albers already saw a weakness in McLaren during the sprint race on Saturday. It may have been a race that Norris won, but the win came late on after long-time leader Oscar Piastri was told to swap positions, just like in Hungary. "I wonder what kind of communication was back there?" said a shocked Albers while taking on the 'De Telegraaf podcast.'
"They really need to be able to work on communication. Because this could also have gone wrong, with that switching. [Team principal] Andrea Stella does say, 'We have to find the right gap.' But they already had that gap with Leclerc. Then at some point, I say, 'There are so many smart heads.' But everyone knows that your number one driver, you shouldn't let them drive behind another driver like that," continued the 45-year-old.
Albers also points out that the fact Norris was racing so close behind his teammate resulted in causing extra wear, highlighting a nonchalant state at the British team: "Why so much risk? I really didn't understand it. You miss the Max factor with them: The aggressiveness, being full on. It seems nonchalant, but there is not one there who is on top of everything," Albers continued, naming the difference with Red Bull Racing's mindset.
This article was created in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen
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