IMAGO / Michael Potts
McLaren got a good start to their season in 2024 and they stand right behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the constructors’ standings. The Papaya team look to carry forward the momentum up ahead. However, according to Andrea Stella, the upcoming Chinese GP could be a cause of concern for them.
“I have to say that of these first part of the season, China is the track that worries me the most from a competitiveness point of view,” said Stella as per Motorsport. “You have so much low-speed, hairpins. Even in corner two, corner three, you spend so long in long corners.”
Following this, he further added, “So far, we haven’t been able to improve the car enough in these low-speed, medium-speed long corners. So from a competitive point of view, I would expect a more difficult situation than here in Suzuka.”
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The 3.3-mile-long venue has two snail-shaped turns that can be a menace to any skilled driver and boasts slow and long corners where the McLaren challengers lack grip compared to its rivals. This is primarily because the MCL38 is vulnerable in low-speed corners, something the Papayas are yet to improve.
Furthermore, their challengers are also slower in pace, compared to the RB20 and SF-24. Therefore, the Shanghai International Circuit race could be a reason for them to worry. On the bright side, the track was resurfaced recently, which could be a silver lining for Stella’s team.
Where does McLaren stand ahead of the Chinese GP?
In terms of points, McLaren trails Red Bull by 72 points, and the Prancing Horse by 51 points, and due to their better start to the season, they have a lead over Mercedes and Aston Martin by 34 and 33 points, respectively.
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McLaren had already planned major upgrades for the MCL38 that would roll on during the trip to Miami. Through this, the British team would look to reduce their gap to a much improved Ferrari team and then have their sights on Red Bull.
Before that, Andrea Stella and his team need to extract the best possible results in China to keep the pressure on Ferrari, and at the same time, stall Mercedes and Aston Martin.
