McLaren sees ‘lot of lap time available’ as Stella studies Mercedes PU
McLaren is a Mercedes customer, with Andrea Stella saying there is more for his team to find.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella identified that plenty of lap time is still available for his team, as understanding is built about the Mercedes power unit.
The Mercedes factory team was dominant in Australian Grand Prix qualifying, locking out the front row with George Russell on pole and Kimi Antonelli set to line up alongside. McLaren, meanwhile, locked out the third row with Oscar Piastri set to start fifth, and Lando Norris just behind in sixth.
McLaren says ‘lot of lap time available’ while learning Mercedes power unit
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As one of Mercedes’ power unit customers, McLaren will have access to its High Performance Powertrains division for technical support, but competes separately from the other Mercedes-powered teams on the grid.
Having now seen the cars operate in a representative qualifying session, particularly with Russell taking pole, the GPS data available to the teams will have identified where the likes of McLaren can improve and optimise its power deployment.
With so much onus placed on battery power in this new regulatory era, the McLaren team principal believes there is still much to be found for the Woking-based squad – identifying the drawback of being a customer team in this regard, but remaining positive as it may bode well for the future.
Discussing Russell’s pole lap to PlanetF1.com and other media after the session, Stella replied: “Well, as you can imagine, this was one of the key points in our post-qualifying debrief, trying to understand how can you exploit these power units to the best of their potential.
“As we can see, this moves quite a lot of lap time in itself. Let me say, it’s partly good news because it means that there’s a lot of lap time available, if you kind of give the right input from a driving point of view, and you do the right exploitation from a control systems point of view, and programming. So, there’s a lot of lap time available.
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“We discussed what might have been different with what we have seen on Russell’s lap. I think we have a good understanding.
“Somehow, it took a qualifying, it took to be all in the same condition on track, same power unit, to actually have enough of a reference to understand what is possible.
“From this point of view, being a customer team doesn’t put you certainly on the forefoot. This doesn’t have to do with the hardware. This is more to do with learning about the hardware and identifying the best way to exploit it.
“We are certainly entering a new era of Formula 1, in which these factors become essential in terms of sensitivity to drivers’ input, the way you use your energy in the preceding straight to have the maximum deployment in the following straight, especially if it’s a long straight, all these factors become essential. And in a way, this is a new language and also a new way of thinking.”
Despite lapping fifth fastest, Piastri’s quickest time was eight tenths off Russell’s benchmark at his hometown circuit, marking a significant difference in how much more spread out the field has become as part of the sport’s new era – and is often an aspect of regulation change.
While there is a knowledge gap about the Mercedes power unit, as is natural as a customer team despite receiving equal specifications, but Stella identified that the PU alone would not make up the team’s full deficit to the Silver Arrows as it stands.
“We just have to learn a few things about the power unit, but it is true as well that Mercedes, they are quick in the corners, not only in the straights,” he explained.
“There’s a few corners in which we can compete with them, but overall they are faster in the grip-limited sections.
“I think at the moment, Mercedes, they are doing a better job than us at exploiting the power unit, but they have also done a better job than us in terms of overall grip in the corners.
“I guess in particular, this will have to do with the level of downforce. So, for McLaren, there are two clear objectives. One is working together with our HPP partners to get more performance from the power unit, but at the same time, we need to improve the aerodynamic performance of the car, because we need to go faster in the corners as well.”
The race will start at 3pm [4am GMT] on Sunday, with McLaren heading into the season as back-to-back Constructors’ title holders.
Additional reporting by Mat Coch
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