Lando Norris has developed an unwelcome tendency to have a poor start to the race whenever he starts from pole position. And the same was the case in Zandvoort where he lost the lead to Max Verstappen in turn 1 of the first lap.
However, this time, even his teammate Oscar Piastri got a poor getaway and lost a crucial place to George Russell. Anthony Davidson believes that both cars getting a poor start could point towards a fundamental problem — not with the drivers — but with the car itself.
The Mercedes simulator driver believes that this issue might not be something new, but we are only noticing it now because both Norris and Piastri are fighting at the sharp end of the grid.
Davidson said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, “So both McLarens just didn’t, in that second phase, of the clutch drop just got out dragged, maybe they both had wheel spin. Maybe it’s only because we’re really analyzing their starts now because they’re under the spotlight at the very front of the race.”
“Maybe it’s been an issue that’s always been there underlying.”, he added.
Having handled simulator duties for Mercedes for over a decade now, Davidson is quite an experienced voice in that regard and he also gave insights into what might actually be the problem with the MCL38.
Norris has been having bad race starts for several races such as Spain, Hungary, and Belgium. At Zandvoort, the Briton stated that it could be due to the McLaren car not getting on the power quickly enough, given that Piastri also experienced the same. All in all, the Woking team has to work out what’s causing this issue for their championship challenge.
McLaren’s race start woes could cost them a shot at the driver’s championship
The launch procedures for modern-day F1 cars have become too complex and there’s so much computing going on behind the scenes that drivers only have so much control over how the car behaves during launch.
“I don’t think it’s a driver issue myself,” Davidson added. “Surely drivers do get the odd start that doesn’t completely go their way because it’s a muscle memory thing, they’re practicing this all the time.”
According to Davidson, McLaren has some inherent problems with the car such that the driver’s launch procedures don’t match with what the underlying code is telling the car to do.
While Norris got away with his bad start in Zandvoort and claimed his second win of the season and his career, his teammate was not so fortunate. As Piastri got stuck behind Russell, it allowed Charles Leclerc to undercut him for the second stint and maintain the podium position till the chequered flag, costing the Aussie some valuable points.
If Norris wants to challenge Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, he and Piastri need to have better launches off the line — which won’t happen until they sort out their start procedures.
