McLaren points to main RB22 strength that stood out after Verstappen pole
Photo: Race Pictures
Tobia is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with experience at international circuits. Since 2022, he has covered Grands Prix across Europe, delivering reliable coverage and insights from the paddock.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella analysed the shift in the competitive order this weekend in Malaysia, praising Red Bull and highlighting how the RB22 has emerged as the strongest car in terms of straight-line speed.
It was far from an ideal day for McLaren, with Norris and Piastri qualifying only sixth and seventh respectively, both finishing six tenths adrift of pole-sitter Max Verstappen, who secured his first pole position of the season at Sepang.
Speaking to GPblog among other media after qualifying, Stella offered his assessment of the shifting competitive picture, pointing out that Mercedes' straight-line advantage from Baku had seemingly disappeared in Malaysia. In his view, Red Bull now holds a clear edge in that area, while Ferrari appears to have the strongest cornering performance.
From McLaren's perspective, Stella nevertheless saw some encouragement in being only around a tenth behind Mercedes, particularly given the significant upgrade package brought by the German manufacturer to Sepang.
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"It's interesting here in Malaysia to see that the straight-line speed advantage that Mercedes had in Baku, we don't see it. It's kind of disappeared here. The best performance in straight line seems to be, by a decent margin, Red Bull. The best cornering performance is Ferrari. And we, McLaren, are kind of one tenth off Mercedes. We have been setting the pace pretty much everywhere. So relative to Mercedes, we think that's a decent position to be considering that Mercedes had a large upgrade that they brought here."
"We are also puzzled a little bit by the fact in high speed we are no longer the best car like we seemed to be in Madrid or we seemed to be in Zandvoort. So while there's some aspects whereby consistently those who made a better job in development, they seem to be taking a performance advantage. At the same time, the way in which this unfolds is quite complicated and it's not so simple in that it doesn't repeat itself so easily."
Photo: Race Pictures
The McLaren team principal also suggested that Sepang's particular tarmac could be influencing the behaviour of the cars themselves rather than simply affecting tyre performance. That has added another variable to an already complex competitive picture, but Stella nevertheless believes the teams doing the strongest development work are being rewarded. In that regard, he singled out Red Bull for the progress it has made.
"Here also, this is very technical. It may somehow inspire some questions that you can make to other teams. Even this kind of tarmac seems to have an effect as to how the car behaves, not only on the tires. So I think we'd say it's a very complicated feature, but a feature in which there seems to be an important reward towards the teams that do the best job at developing. And we have to say that Red Bull have done very well."
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Antonelli makes stark Verstappen admission after Mercedes falls short
Antonelli also acknowledged that Verstappen was simply out of reach in the battle for pole in Malaysia. The Italian felt his own track-limits mistake prevented him from maximising qualifying, believing a clean session could have put him second or third on the grid, but conceded that first place was never realistically within reach given the Dutchman's pace.
Mercedes also faces a significant learning process with its new package. The rough Sepang surface and extreme temperatures have made understanding the upgrades particularly difficult, with the tyres quickly falling outside their ideal operating window and leaving the car sliding around. Despite those difficulties, Antonelli remains optimistic about the race and believes Mercedes still has an opportunity to score strongly and potentially challenge for victory.
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