McLaren, an increasingly illusory fourth place

The weekends follow one another and are the same for McLaren. For the 7th time in the last 8 Grands Prix, the British team was beaten by Alpine on the track. After the 16-0 inflicted on Spa-Francorchamps, the manufacturer with the A arrow still recovered 4 more points than the team from Woking in the Netherlands. On the Zandvoort circuit, which should better correspond to the characteristics of the MCL36, McLaren was not able to win against the Alpine.

For good reason, the English team faced the same problems as in previous races: too low a top speed and a Daniel Ricciardo very (too) far from the mark. Only positive point: Lando Norris, who once again saved the ship. “It was a great race for Lando [Norris], declared Andreas Seidl, McLaren team principal. The safety car at the end of the race was a bit unfortunate for him. He had to make another stop to defend against cars that made the same strategic choice. It cost us a position in Fernando [Alonso]. On Daniel's side, it was still a difficult task from 17th place to make up positions on this track. Unfortunately, no opportunity presented itself to him to progress. »

McLaren plays one against two 

Lando Norris, qualified 7th on Saturday, had to give in to theAlpine by Fernando Alonso. The Briton, isolated between the two French single-seaters, “given everything” to maintain its place ahead of its rivals. “We had a good rhythm. It was difficult to fight with both Alpines, they can play a lot more with strategy and hold me back, lamented the young English pilot. 6th place would have been the best result we could have gotten anyway, so we came in just one place behind. We lost a few points toAlpine, but they're getting more performance out of their car than we are right now. »

Implicitly, Norris conceded that the absence of Daniel Ricciardo in the match against Alpine is detrimental for McLaren. The Australian, pitifully eliminated in Q1 at Zandvoort, was transparent all weekend and finished in a poor 17th place. “It was a tricky Sunday because of our starting position and the nature of the track, Ricciardo justified himself. The first few rounds weren't too bad. Starting so far back it's difficult to make a big impression, you need a big difference to make a few overtakes. When I had the track free, I felt like I had a bit of pace, but it didn't last long. »

His head may already be elsewhere, far from McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo seems to have stopped since the announcement of his departure. For McLaren, if the divorce is already confirmed, cohabitation will have to work to maintain the hope of 4th place in the constructor's championship. At the dawn of the Italian Grand Prix (September 9-11), the British team is 24 points behind Alpine.

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