Mini-Drs McLaren, Stella teases Ferrari and Red Bull: “Our winger distracted them”

McLaren pole in Singapore

Perhaps a nice peremptory pole position like the one obtained in Singapore by Lando Norris was really needed, definitively put an end to the controversy over McLaren’s “mini-Drs” rear wing. Even without the offending wing – the FIA ​​intervened to ask for a modification after Baku, but the Woking team would not have used the low-downforce specification again except for the next Las Vegas GP – the MCL38 was uncatchable, taking a stratospheric pole position on Saturday night at Marina Bay. A great satisfaction for the team principal Andrea Starwho in the post-qualifications took a few things off his chest live on Sky UK.

Stella teases Ferrari and Red Bull

“What effect will the wing change have? Well – said the Italian engineer, formerly of Ferrari – absolutely no one and I think it showed in qualifying. For us, however, it is positive that our rivals have been distracted by this type of thing, because it means that they are not focused on themselves.. And for us this is a plus, we are happy that someone is picking up this red herring. As you know the wing is legal, there is no argument about it. I think it is just a story and it seems like everyone is looking for stories to tell. But it is positive for us, that instead we keep the focus on ourselves, keep our feet on the ground and continue to bring updates. Let’s do this, and then let the track do the talking”.

Norris’s Super Lap in Q3

He also commented on the extraordinary lap in Q3 that allowed Norris to take pole number 6 of his career: “A stressful evening for everyone, because only Oscar had a time (after the red flag in Q3, ed.) and it was important to close that one attempt. It wasn’t as clean as possible, Lando complained on the radio that he made a lot of mistakes, but usually when he does that the final result is good.. It was the same this time, Lando deserved this pole. We could have obtained something more with Oscar, because the time he did in Q2 would have earned him second place if repeated in Q3. We should therefore understand why he was not able to put together the final lap, but overall it was a good performance for McLaren and a promising starting point for the race.”.