McLaren had a successful weekend at the Baku Grand Prix, securing a 9-11 result after introducing a revised floor. However, the team's progress came to a halt at the Miami Grand Prix, where Lando Norris finished 17th after being hit by Nyck de Vries in Turn 1, damaging his floor. The team also considered retiring rookie Oscar Piastri due to spiking brake temperatures and a brake-by-wire hydraulic system fault.
Team principal Stella acknowledged that the poor performance was a "reality check" for the team. He stated that the information gained from the race would help them understand which development directions needed to be pursued, such as improving the car in off-brakes and off-throttle conditions. He noted that the car didn't work well under these conditions, which became too much of a limitation on tracks like Miami.
At the moment, the car just doesn't work in this condition. At tracks like this, this becomes too much of a limitation.
McLaren's only hope for major progress in the race was through an incident that could induce a safety car and shake up strategy. However, the full 57 laps ran without any retirements or yellow flag incidents. The team left Miami with no points.
Norris expressed disappointment with the track's unsuitability for McLaren's car characteristics, stating that longer corners, temperature, and track surface didn't work in their favor. He noted that AlphaTauri was the only other team that underperformed, with everyone else being pretty quick. Norris also commented on his collision with de Vries, stating that he got hit and that de Vries needed to brake earlier.
Norris said: “I don't know what happened. I just got hit.
“He's done that a bit lately, so he needs to try braking a little bit earlier, but it didn't change my day.”
The Miami Grand Prix results put a setback on McLaren's recent progress in the F1 circuit. However, the team's determination to pursue development directions that will improve their car's performance in off-brakes and off-throttle conditions suggests that they are not giving up on their goal to secure more wins in future races.
