McLaren team principal Andrea Stella revealed that changing track conditions made the MCL38 more challenging to drive during Saturday’s Qatar Grand Prix qualifying session, preventing the team from repeating its dominance Friday’s Sprint shootout.
After Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri secured a commanding first and third on the grid for the short-form race earlier in the day, the duo were relegated to sharing the second row for Sunday’s main event after trailing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell in qualifying.
Stella attributed the dip in performance from one evening to the other to gusty winds that unsettled the car’s balance, contrasting with the calmer conditions during the sprint qualifying session.
“It was a more complicated session for us in terms of qualifying pace compared to yesterday,” Stella explained to F1's official channel.
“Today the conditions were slightly different. It may look [like] small things. It is still windy and gusty compared to how it was yesterday in the sprint quali [when the wind dropped]. This meant that our car was more difficult to drive than yesterday.
“Yesterday, as soon as the wind calmed down, the car became very predictable, and our drivers could really attack.
“Today, I have to say, it was more about almost defending and trying to be cautious because any time we were attacking for ultimate pace, we were having problems.”
Both Norris and Piastri fell foul to mistakes during their initial runs in Q3. Norris had a moment of oversteer that sent him through the gravel between Turns 4 and 5, forcing him to abandon his lap.
However, despite the shaky start, both drivers rallied to secure P3 and P4, thus locking out the second row of the grid.
“Lando and Oscar have done a good job in securing a P3, P4,” reckoned Stella. “At some stage in Q3 it was like P7, P10. We got a little nervous, but they stayed calm and they delivered when it counted.”
While McLaren was widely seen as the team to beat at Lusail, Stella wasn’t surprised to see cars from two different teams ahead.
“Russell, he was on course for pole position already yesterday, so it’s not a surprise,” the Italian noted. “The other car ahead of us is Max Verstappen, and I think I said it all. When it’s Max, you can never discount him.”
Despite missing out on a front-row start, Stella remained optimistic about McLaren’s chances for the Grand Prix, emphasizing the team’s strong race pace.
“So it’s a good result, a good starting position for tomorrow,” he said. “Tomorrow will be very much about race pace and that’s where we have to be good.
“The sprint has been promising, but even the sprint has been quite compact [in terms of gaps between cars]. So I think once again for the spectators and the F1 fans, it’s going to be an entertaining evening.”
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