ROUND 18: 🇶🇦 FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS QATAR GRAND PRIX 2023
| Circuit stats | |
|---|---|
| First Grand Prix | 2021 |
| Number of laps | 57 |
| Circuit Length | 5.419 km |
| Race Distance | 308.826 km |
| Lap record | N/A |
| 2022 winner | N/A |
ROUND 18: 🇶🇦 FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS QATAR GRAND PRIX 2023
| Circuit stats | |
|---|---|
| First Grand Prix | 2021 |
| Number of laps | 57 |
| Circuit Length | 5.419 km |
| Race Distance | 308.826 km |
| Lap record | N/A |
| 2022 winner | N/A |
A good result for McLaren but I have to wonder how much that lead Red Bull was holding back.
As Max alluded to in his post race interview, the enforced pitstops nullified the RB19’s usual advantage of being kind on tyres.
I don’t think they were holding back as much really. With everyone being forced to do max 18 laps, a big Red Bull advantage of being good to their tyres got taken out of the equation. I think you can argue this is also partially why Piastri could finish ahead of Norris. That and team orders, but McLaren would have let Norris true if he was so much faster to challenge Max I think. (All speculation but that’s the fun of talking about it, no?)
That’s the problem with team orders in a race like today’s. Lando was setting fastest laps at will behind Oscar. After Max’s slow stop the gap was something like 4 seconds back to Oscar. What happens if instead of maintaining a small gap back to Piastri, Max is forced to push harder because of a charging Lando? Maybe Lando is closer during Max’s pit window, etc.
I understand the McLaren reasoning for team orders to secure a solid result for both drivers, but Lando was out for redemption today after a tough start to the weekend and the fans potentially lost a chance to see someone challenge Max on pure pace.
Hopefully we’ll get to see a lot more wheel to wheel racing for the lead before the end of the season.