The director of the McLaren team, Andrea Stella, stated that the difficulty of overtaking on the Madring track was decisive for Lando Norris, who could not achieve victory in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Norris secured pole position and in the first twelve laps opened a six-second gap. This initial advantage turned counterproductive when the virtual safety car was activated, leaving him too far behind to make the pit stop at the right time.
After a seven-second stop to change tires, the British driver found himself 16 seconds behind the leader, Kimi Antonelli. Although by lap 48 he had reduced the gap with Antonelli and Max Verstappen, he was unable to make any attempt to overtake.
According to Stella, the pit stop did not significantly influence the outcome. ‘Probably, Lando would have exited behind [George] Russell anyway,’ he noted, adding that it was unlikely he would have been able to overtake Verstappen or Antonelli.
The Madring track has been considered complicated for overtaking, with only ten overtaking maneuvers recorded during the race, a number even lower than that of the Monaco Grand Prix. Additionally, the braking zone at turn five is narrow and demanding, which makes overtaking attempts there difficult.
Stella commented on the need to review the track design to allow for more overtaking opportunities. ‘It’s a shame that overtaking is so difficult. There is a big difference in lap time needed to be able to do it,’ he concluded while reflecting on the modifications that might be necessary to improve the situation.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_83fae555c551690a50a79acb809ad6500e9c1f22