McLaren Focused on Improving Pit Stops: Key to F1 Success

McLaren Focused on Improving Pit Stops

The McLaren team has identified pit stops as a key area for improvement, after noticing that slow tire changes affected Lando Norris in the last two Grand Prix. A slow change of the front left tire at the Italian Grand Prix resulted in an awkward situation for McLaren, when Norris lost a position in the pits to Oscar Piastri, although the position was later returned. Norris also suffered a slow pit stop at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, due to a problem when placing the nut on the right front wheel, which could have cost him two positions and four points in the championship.

“Definitely, in terms of pit stops, that’s an area where we’ve already focused our efforts,” said Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal, after the race.

Andrea Stella

Stella added that the team needs to keep working on this aspect, as pit stops can make a significant difference in races, especially in a context where the competition is increasingly fierce. McLaren aims to improve both the execution of pit stops and the hardware used, so that the process is more efficient and natural for the team.

Stella confirmed that the problems in Monza and Baku were not related, but highlighted the need for McLaren to raise its level. “No, they were different. The one in Baku was more due to the interaction between the operator and the gun. But we know that, from a hardware point of view, we are not optimizing,” he explained. “We know there is room for improvement in terms of equipment and hardware, as well as on the car side, to make life a little easier for our pit crew.”