McLaren has had a recent surge in form with star driver Lando Norris securing two podium finishes in the last three races leading up to the summer break. Moreover, it is not just the Briton who has performed well but also his teammate, Oscar Piastri. The Australian put in a strong performance at Spa as he finished second during the sprint race. With McLaren having showcased their potential recently, they will be hoping for another strong race weekend at Zandvoort, now that the summer break is over. Moreover, since the circuit suits their car, according to Peter Windsor, the Woking-based outfit is likely to challenge for the podium places once again.
While Windsor does not believe that McLaren was convincing enough during practice in Zandvoort, he does expect them to be strong when it matters the most. During his analysis, he also explained how Pirelli’s choice of tire for the weekend favors McLaren.
Windsor explains why Zandvoort will suit Norris and Piastri
Following the conclusion of the two practice sessions on Friday, Peter Windsor gave his analysis via his official YouTube channel. The 71-year-old began by explaining how McLaren worked hard to retrieve a lot of data following their runs in free practice. After stating the same, Windsor explained how Zandvoort’s circuit and Pirelli’s choice of tires for the weekend would suit the team.
“They (High-speed corners) do put a lot of load through the tires. Unexpected load, vertical load, which can be very, very hard on the tires. So, Pirelli for obvious reasons, taking no gamble with their tire choices and running the hardest in their compound range. And guess what team (McLaren) has always looked good on these tires,” explained Windsor.
The veteran British journalist then pointed out that all the circuits, barring Bahrain, in which McLaren have performed well, have been high-speed corners. Plus, the banking at Zandvoort’s track means that McLaren can rely on their hardest compound of tires, which has worked well for them so far. These are the reasons why Windsor believes that McLaren are likely to have another strong weekend in The Netherlands.
The Woking-based outfit’s recent surge in form also seems to have given some sort of comfort to Lando Norris. H explained how McLaren’s outstanding recovery over the course of this season has provided the Bristol-born driver some much-needed “relief“.
Lando Norris credits McLaren for performing better than expectations
Since McLaren were fighting at the back of the grid at the start of the 2023 season, few expected them to fight teams in the midfield, let alone for podiums. However, the Woking-based outfit’s recovery has been nothing short of stunning. The person who seems most impressed is star driver Lando Norris.
While speaking to motorsport.com in a recent interview, the Briton said, “I guess there’s always a bit of relief, just going from any difficult situation to having such a big change around. Even if we took half the step we did take, I think we still would have seen that as a positive sign“.
Similar to the 23-year-old, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also believes that the side’s updates help the drivers showcase what kind of performances they are capable of producing. The Italian made his remarks in a recent interview (as quoted by motorsport.com) while he was crediting Oscar Piastri for his recent strong performances.
