F1 News
This is why McLaren are struggling in Las Vegas: 'We've had some issues'
McLaren's team principal, Andrea Stella, has revealed why his team are struggling so much at the Las Vegas Street Circuit compared to their rivals. The Papaya team will line up in sixth and eighth place, respectively. It's not a horrid result, but when the constructor's title is taken into consideration, it's not an ideal place for the current leaders to start from. Closest rivals, Ferrari, who start in second and fourth, can claw back some valuable points this weekend. So, how will McLaren respond? Team boss Andrea Stella revealed in a discussion with Sky Sports.
McLaren is leading the constructors standings with 593 points. Ferrari sits 36 points behind them on 557 and will be hoping to gain on their rivals in Sin City. The Woking-based team has consistently looked like one of, if not the fastest car for the majority of the year, but the MCL38 is tripping up in Las Vegas. According to Andrea Stella, a key reason why McLaren is struggling so much is due to the cold weather conditions. "It's unusual in terms of the conditions we find here. It's very cold, very low grip. There's a requirement to generate very high top speed. So the cars operate outside what is the normal window, in which you develop them, you optimise them. And we have to say that in these conditions, we struggle to generate grip consistently. And it's just difficult to put the laps together today," The Italian explained.
Stella: 'The car doesn't perform well in these conditions'
The team boss continued: "So in all our attempts, we have some issues here and there, but overall, I would say the main reason why we are not in the usual position from our point-of-view is that the car overall in this configuration in these conditions doesn't seem to perform very well. Hopefully, tomorrow in the race, once you start to have continuous laps and you can generate some tyre temperature, conditions come back to a more normal window, and we can be more competitive." On the other hand, Mercedes are operating well in these colder conditions and have been quick all weekend. George Russell will start tomorrow's night race from pole position. Lewis Hamilton is down in P10 but will most likely work his way through the field after making a few too many mistakes in qualifying.
Can McLaren win the Grand Prix?
Still, it's not all doom and gloom for McLaren yet. There is a long race ahead of them, and a lot can happen in it, highlights Stella. "We will see, I think the race can be quite eventful. And like I said, it could depend on some of the variables that will be very different compared to qualifying, so we will see. Also, this track can be affected by safety cars, which can be affected by this kind of situation. So you also need to be ready from a strategy point-of-view, be ready for the situation. So some work to do from a performance point-of-view and also preparation from a race strategy point-of-view and tyres," Stella concluded.
Whether or not McLaren put themselves in a position to win the Grand Prix remains to be seen. Of course, there is still an opportunity for them to outscore their rivals, and they will be hoping to hit the jackpot tomorrow in the gambling capital of the world.
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