McLaren is finally starting to establish itself in the hierarchy: "We are fighting with Ferrari"

In a season start marked by technical problems and a lack of consistency, McLaren They finally had a benchmark weekend, at least for one lap. The Japanese qualifying session allowed the British team to put both its cars back at the top of the standings, following a progression built session after session.

Oscar piastri highlights a clean execution and a finally positive dynamic: “A good qualifying session today; it was nice to be in the top three and close the gap to the leading team. Overall, we can be quite satisfied with this afternoon's result. I think we've shown a good level throughout the weekend, and the team has managed each session well, putting everything in place correctly each day, which is encouraging.”

The Australian remains realistic about the current hierarchy, despite encouraging signs: "It's clear that we don't yet have the pace or the grip needed to compete with Mercedes BenzBut we're getting closer, and that's what matters most in terms of track performance. There are a lot of positives to take away from today, and it was good to be able to qualify at the front. Classic Ferrari for sale Also. "

"Fifth place isn't so bad."

On the other side of the garage, Lando Norris He had to contend with a disrupted weekend, marked by repeated technical problems. The Briton nevertheless considers it a solid result given the circumstances: “I have to settle for 5th place. Considering the number of problems we encountered throughout the weekend and the laps we missed, it’s a good result that pays tribute to the team for the car’s potential and the hard work they put in to resolve the various issues we faced. […] We were constantly making up ground without ever really finding a comfortable pace. However, we’ve clearly taken a step forward and seem closer to our rivals here, which is a positive sign, but the lack of track time certainly hampered my preparation.”

He also elaborated on this point in an interview with Canal+, emphasizing the lack of track time and testing: “It’s very difficult to realize how much I’ve lost. The impact here with these cars… you have to learn how to drive well, how to set it up properly, how to manage the battery… The car was fast all weekend though, which made things a bit easier for me. […] I would have liked to have more laps to test things, different setups. I had to hope it would work, but we did a good job as a team. I can be satisfied with that.”

Under these conditions, Norris is approaching the race cautiously, aware of his lack of preparation: “Heading into the race, I’m starting from a disadvantageous position. Since we haven’t done any testing with a full tank, it’s difficult to know how the car will perform or how to manage the tires and battery throughout the race. I’m not as confident as I’d like to be, but the car is fast, and Oscar did a great job securing third place, which shows what’s possible.”

Planned improvements

From the management perspective, Andrea Stella highlights real progress, while placing this result in its context: “This day marked a positive step forward for us, with clear signs of progress in terms of competitiveness. Oscar has been fast since the start of the season and demonstrated that again, while Lando put in a strong performance despite issues in each free practice session. Our enhanced collaboration with the Mercedes HPP engineers is helping us to extract more from this power unit, and thanks to improved development work on the MCL40, we were able to gain lap times. Today’s 3rd and 5th places in qualifying reflect our current position: we are fighting with Ferrari, while acknowledging that Mercedes retains a significant advantage in terms of pure speed.”

The Team Principal also points out persistent weaknesses, particularly in terms of reliability: “We are well aware of the areas where we need to improve. Reliability, and in particular the recurring problems with the battery module supplied by Mercedes HPP – like today’s, which forced us to install a third battery during the third free practice session – is an area where we are working to find solutions to stabilize the situation.”

Finally, McLaren is already looking ahead, aware that this progress will need to be confirmed by concrete developments: "First and foremost, we need to make improvements, which are planned for the next race, so that we can fight more consistently for podium finishes and, later in the season, for victories." While waiting for the long break in April during which she can work on their carThe team hopes to ensure that both of its cars take part in the race.

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