Austrian GP 2024– There Sprint Race Saturday saw McLaren once again as Red Bull's main pursuer. The first laps were delighted by a good fight between Norris and Verstappen. Piastri, taking advantage of the duel between the two, manages to overtake Norris and finishes in second position. His teammate was third.
Currently McLaren has more performance than Mercedes and Ferrari, for a few laps it seemed that Norris had more pace than Max's Red Bull who among other things suffered tire problems clipping (which indicates the reduction in power supplied by the MGU-K electric motor which occurs in high speed sections as the car's electronics decide to conserve part of the energy supplied by the MGU-K component), but in the end thanks to a champion's maneuver, it was the Dutchman who took the leadership and then triumph in the mini race.
Seen the updates introduced this weekend, this session was useful for analyzing the behavior of the MCL38. McLaren, like others team, suffers from an imbalance in performance when cornering at low and high speed. These update intend to solve this problem as this would allow the team of Woking to get even closer to Red Bull.
Austrian GP – Sprint Race, Plates: “I started better than Norris”
In post interviews Sprint Race, the Australian driver said he was satisfied with the result obtained. After the bad Catalan performance, he absolutely needed to do well, and even managed to beat his teammate too.
On the fight with Norris: “My start was better than Lando. I was patient and then managed to pass Lando, unfortunately I didn't have enough to attack Max. I saw that they were fighting in front and I knew there would be an opportunity coming out of Turn 4. I was hoping to stay in front of both of them. I have done my best", declares Piastri.
![McLaren Sprint Race Austrian GP](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IMG_0968-jpg.webp)
“Towards the end the tires were so hot for everyone that the DRS was no longer as effective as it was at the start. The last few laps were a little calmer for me." In fact, the struggle in the first laps may have put the life of the tires at risk. We know how important tire management is by now.
Austrian GP – Sprint Race, Norris: “I could have done some things better”
A Lando Norris who certainly cannot be satisfied with this Sprint Race: not only did he not beat Max, but he also lost the direct comparison with his teammate.
“Nice challenge with Max at the start of the race. I had fun but I could have done some things better. The pace was very good, even with Oscar I put on a good battle but we scored important points for the team. Overall we can say we did a good job."
Regarding the internal struggle with Piastri. “I don't think we could have done more. Honestly we fought well, but overcoming was too complicated. Once you get closer the tires heat up and everything is more difficult. We have to do better tomorrow."
Crediti foto: McLaren