The director of the McLaren Formula 1 team, Andrea Stella, commented that the overtaking difficulties were too great an obstacle for Lando Norris when it came to fighting for victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, held in Madring.
Norris, who achieved pole position, maintained a six-second lead during the first twelve laps of the race. Despite this good start, he was unable to take advantage of the virtual safety car deployment, as he found himself too far from the pit lane when called in for his stop.
After a stoppage that lasted seven seconds, he returned to the track 16 seconds behind Kimi Antonelli. Although on lap 48 he managed to reduce the gap to Antonelli and Max Verstappen, he could not execute any overtaking maneuvers.
Stella points out that the slowness of the stop did not influence Norris’s final result, as, according to him, “he would have had to come out behind George Russell and would not have been able to overtake Verstappen or Antonelli.” Thus, the McLaren director emphasizes that they still have work to do in their operations, as this is not the first time they have suffered a long stop.
The track in Madring has become a key factor in the overtaking difficulties during the race. Only ten overtakes were recorded, which is the lowest number of the entire 2026 season, including Monaco, which had just one more. Four of these overtakes were several drivers who managed to pass each other in the back of the grid.
The difficulty in overtaking became evident at turn 5, which is too tight and difficult to maneuver. “It’s a shame it’s so hard to overtake; it seems that a great time difference is needed to achieve it,” Stella commented, suggesting that Formula 1 should consider changes to the track to facilitate overtaking in the future.
In conclusion, Stella indicated that if there had been more overtaking opportunities, Norris could have regained the first position, given his good speed during the race.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
