McLaren Racing
Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella after the 2024 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Both drivers hold their positions at the start. In the opening laps, Oscar makes a move on Alonso for P4. Stroll goes into the wall, which causes a safety car to be deployed. Oscar boxes for hards, while Lando stays out on the mediums. The order shuffles out with Lando in P1 and Oscar in P6. Lando holds off Verstappen at the re-start but gets passed with DRS a few laps later. On Lap 18, Perez moves on Lando, dropping him down to P3. Leclerc then also overtakes Lando, dropping him to P4. Oscar gets stuck behind Hamilton and can’t get past until Hamilton pits. Lando pits on Lap 37 for Softs and is under pressure from Hamilton right up to the final lap but manages to hold him off. The chequered flag falls with Oscar in P4 and Lando in P8.
Lando Norris
It’s a reasonable race. We tried something with strategy, but, in the end, it didn’t entirely pay off. It was a reasonable effort, and I think it was the right decision as we covered all options for the team. There was a reasonable pace in the car today, so we may have missed a couple of points, but I think we did what we could. We took a little bit of a gamble; sometimes it works, occasionally it doesn’t, and today it didn’t, but it could have done! So, I’m still happy. I think today’s pace was pretty intense, so there are some promising signs. On to the next one!
Oscar Piastri
P4! I think that’s the most we could have got out of that race, and we executed it well. It was frustrating being stuck behind Lewis Hamilton for so long, but I think that was the most points we could have got this weekend, so I’m thrilled. I can’t wait to go to Melbourne next for my home race.
I look forward to racing in front of the Aussie fans at my local circuit.
Andrea Stella
Another strong result here in Saudi Arabia. Oscar drove very solidly throughout the weekend, and today, he capitalised on the solid qualifying yesterday, finishing fourth and driving a faultless race with some close but clean fights.
With Lando, we decided to split the strategy as a team at the Safety Car, which could have put us in an advantageous situation in the event of another Safety Car or a Red Flag, which is not infrequent here in Saudi Arabia. It is worthwhile taking this opportunity. Unfortunately, there was no further Safety Car or a Red Flag, which meant Lando potentially lost a couple of positions compared to where we could have finished. Nonetheless, it was still a strong result, and Lando drove very well.
We take the positives from the first two races, knowing it will be a development battle throughout the season. We are pleased to be so close to a podium finish and learn where to keep working and improving the car.
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