Why McLaren’s Miami F1 dominance was not a factor of tire management

“We saw when McLaren Was pushing, we were seventh tenth and a second behind. For the first time, we saw his pure speed, “was the decision of Helmut Marco after Miami Grand Prix, which offered a clear, raw picture of McLaren’s superiority.

Out of the six rounds held so far, the most recent is the first one in which the Papaya team fully demonstrated its capacity. Till then, due to different breed conditions, that speed was at least partially hidden.

Two elements stood the most in Florida: the final difference, and with the speed that Lando Noris Managed to retreat Max Verustapane After the first lap incident.

After slipping in sixth place, with two Mercedes And one Williams To overtake, Noris took just 13 lapses to close the difference to Verustapane.

Di, they got some help from factors such as ease of overtaking Miami with DRS (better than one of this year), and with the battle of Vestapen Oscar piastryWhich slowed both. However, the speed with which Noris made his comeback gave a concrete measure of McLaren’s ability in Miami.

All this fits into a broader picture: a difference of about 40 seconds to a third place man George Russell Checker on the flag. But where does such a big difference come from the biggest in the era of—–two to?

Tire management, an area in which McLaren has already provided enough evidence of superiority, is definitely one of the factors. But this is not only one, despite the intrigue and spontaneous how it has achieved this performance.

Andrea Stella said, “Every time the situation becomes difficult for tires, especially with overheating, the car does an excellent job of keeping them in an ideal operating window,” Andrea Stela said, the solutions found to keep them cool were also highlighted. It is no coincidence that the benefit of McLaren increases on the hotter circuit.

“I want to take this opportunity to praise the work done by engineers, in identifying both factors, which affect tire management and to get a benefit to design the car in this way. They have also mastered one of the aspects of F1 which remains almost a dark art: tire management.”

It was 12 months ago in Miami that McLaren’s return began – but even though the MCL38 was replaced by the update package, was implemented at the end of that week, the tire management was not its construction. In contrast, especially on a flying lap, high temperatures made it difficult for the car to catch a soft compound.

MCL39 has applied lessons of 2024 to McLaren, not only in terms of tire management, but also mechanical and aerial versatility and effectiveness in slow classes – which also used to be a weakness. And this is fine where there is a difference of about 40-second for the competition, even if McLaren saved a few seconds from being benefited from the virtual safety car during her pitstop.

Analyzing the race data, it is clear that, in the first term, after wearing his tires in the fight with McClance, Verustapanes were no longer able to take advantage of RB21 capacity in high -speed classes. In turn, where McLaren was lacking 8 km/h, the papaya car had received a profit of 15 km/h by the end of the first stint.

But it is in the second part of the race that an even more interesting fact emerges: after switching on hard tires, Vastapane gained momentum in sharp corners, once again using the remaining real power of his car. But this was not enough to reverse the effectiveness of McLaren in slow corners.

Where MCL38 was suffering from chronic understanding a year ago, MCL39 has now turned it into one of its biggest weapons.

The subject fits in a broader context of versatility. MCL39 is not the right car, but it is the most complete – capable of adapt to a wide range of tracks. While Miami is a circuit more played for McLaren’s strength than the red bull, it remains a complex track to install a balance between slow corners, sharp segments and straps.

And it is properly thanked for this versatility that McLaren is capable of creating differences-Mase-up-speed areas continue to dominate slow classes without compromising more than performance, where other cars are absolutely better.

It is not just a matter of temperature. If you look at the track temperature on Sunday in Miami, it was comparable – if not less – what was seen in Jeddah. Nevertheless, Red Bull faced more tire overheating than Saudi Arabia.

“We had warm tires compared to Jeddah, and even a small temperature variation can change a lot of things,” said Christian Horner, principal of the Red Bull Team. “Tires are very sensitive.”

If the red bull in Jeddah was able to install its car to shine in the corners rapidly, then in Miami it failed to find a compromise effectively as McLaren. It is not only a matter of tire management, but also of operating window and technical versatility – areas where MCL39 Excel.

Another performance factor is clearly related to temperature, though. Honda Engine – Like Ferrari To some extent – more pronounced hot air wastage is required, and it is no coincidence that in the hottest or most humid race, the red bull is one of the biggest cooling launders.

In contrast, the Mercedes Power Unit better handles this requirement, and some design options of McLaren have maximized its capacity. It allows for tight, more streamlined bodywork – not only with engine cover, but also at the end of the central cooling outlet – resulting in a clear advantage for aerodynamic efficiency.

Stela said, “There is another feature that works very well with our car: Cooling. When it is hot, you can see how our car remains relatively closed, well because a lot of work has also gone in this area,” Stela said. “I believe McLaren’s engineering excellence has reached a level that really makes a difference.”

A car that is not right – but of course the most complete.