McLaren Outpaces Mercedes in Saudi Arabia, But Will It Last?

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is shaping up to be a thrilling race as McLaren has taken the lead in practice sessions. The Woking-based team, with drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, has dominated the three practice sessions at Jeddah, thanks to their exceptional tyre temperature management.

McLarens’ Tyre Management Strategy Gives Them an Edge

In FP3, Norris topped the timesheets with a 0.24-second lead over his teammate Piastri. George Russell of Mercedes followed in third place, trailing Norris by six tenths of a second. Speaking after FP3, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff conceded McLaren‘s advantage. “It looks similar to Bahrain,” he admitted. “When it’s hot, they are just in a league of their own.

Despite this setback, Wolff remains hopeful for Mercedes’ performance in qualifying, which takes place in the cooler hours of the evening. He believes that McLaren‘s advantage may not be as vast during qualifying due to everyone running flat out in practice sessions. However, race simulations from the Andrea Stella-led team look worryingly fast.

Mercedes Still Impresses Despite McLarens Lead

Wolff can take solace in the fact that Mercedes still looks impressive this weekend, with Russell finishing third in FP3. Antonelli didn’t have as good a time today, finishing 10th on the timesheets, over a second off Norris’ lead.

Verstappen Links McLarens Success to Former Red Bull Designer

Max Verstappen, who finished fourth behind Russell in FP3, believes that part of McLaren‘s dominance could stem from former Red Bull designer Rob Marshall. “Once he joined,” Verstappen said, “you could see that clearly.