100%. This is the success rate (excluding Sprint) of McLaren this season. In turn, first in Australia and more recently in China, Lando Norris et Oscar piastri each took pole position, which they later converted into victory after a race dominated head and shoulders.
Behind them, the competition is trying as best it can to hang on, but the gap still seems too wide. Over a single lap, the Oranges may be vulnerable—even if they remain in control—but over the long term, they are truly untouchable, as their representatives demonstrated in these two opening rounds.
Consistently on the third step of the podium, George Russell is almost helpless in watching this domination by McLaren, which is on a run of three straight wins and could continue at this pace in a few days at Suzuka (4-6). Aware of the performance gap with the MCL39s, the Englishman seems to have found one of the main strengths of the Woking team at the start of the season after spending his two races scrutinizing them from afar.
« Their strength is probably pneumatic management, assures the pilot Mercedes. We saw (in China) that the one-stop strategy was the most comfortable. It remains to be seen when we go to a circuit where there is a lot more overheating, as we saw in Melbourne with the intermediate tires or during testing in Bahrain. But they were even stronger. So they did a remarkable job. Oscar and Lando did a good job, and we have to keep pushing to close the gap.. » Which shouldn't be deleted anytime soon unless…
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Yves-Henri RANDIER
30/03/2025 at 01:37 a.m.
It's unfortunate that tire management is becoming so crucial in the fastest and most technologically advanced discipline of motorsport. When will we return to total freedom of tire choice and no obligation to pit? A full tank at the start, free tire choice for the driver, free choice of whether or not to change tires during the race, the elimination of radio... and that's it!