McLaren Boss Points Out Red Bull’s Main Advantage as the British Outfit Closes the Gap to the Austrian Team

Red Bull has dominated the 2023 season, winning 19 of the 20 races held so far. Now, with McLaren slowly catching up to them, as per a report by F1i.com, the team’s boss Andrea Stella has outlined the one advantage that helps Red Bull stand out.

Team principal Andrea Stella said, “I think the difference is mainly in terms of lap time on used tires. We have seen that in new tires, we can fight for position.”

However, the difference in performance between the two cars becomes much more pronounced once the tires start to degrade.

ℹ️ F1 tyre wear is where Red Bull makes the difference

“I think the difference is mainly in terms of lap time on used tyres. In new tyres, we can fight for position” said Stella

“As soon as the tyres degrade, it would appear like Max, RB they can just have less degradation” pic.twitter.com/RrtXMJ8KKm

— McLaren News | 🇬🇧 🇦🇺 (@McLarenF1_News) November 8, 2023

This was clearly seen during the Sao Paolo GP, where Norris put his MCL35 on pole and proved that McLaren can fight with Red Bull when it comes to one-lap pace. However, when it comes to long runs during races, the Woking outfit falls short considerably.

Stella claims that this is the same issue that happens with teams like Ferrari and Mercedes, as their tires degrade much faster, leaving them slower towards the end of stints.

LANDO NORRIS TAKES ANOTHER PODIUM IN 2023, THIS TIME IN BRAZIL 🇧🇷🏆

THE GAP TO P3 WAS OVER 25
SECONDS 😳👏#F1 #Formula1 #McLaren #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/TdxC4bmL89

— McLaren F1 Updates 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇦🇺 (@TheMcLarenZone) November 5, 2023

For McLaren, their development has been beyond incredible. A team that started out last in the opening race, constantly being able to fight for podiums is an incredible feat. Their Singapore GP upgrade has also helped with managing the tire degradation, but not enough to be able to fight the Red Bull.

McLaren might be able to fight for race wins in 2024

If McLaren manages to keep up this level of progression and development, their 2024 challenger might be good enough to fight for wins. They are one of the main contenders to beat Red Bull next season given they can carry on the good work that they have been doing at the factory back at Woking.

Lando Norris recently expressed his excitement towards driving the new car in 2024. He said, “We know we still have plenty more things to come next year. So I’m excited.”

However, Red Bull has the upper hand when it comes to designing next year’s car. Given their dominance this year, the Milton-Keynes outfit turned their focus on the next year much before the other teams could afford to. Therefore, it is also a possibility that Red Bull might continue with their dominance for 2024.