The 2026 Dutch Grand Prix sprint race provided McLaren with plenty of data, but it also delivered a sobering realization: Ferrari might currently possess the fastest race car on the grid.
While McLaren continues to fight at the front of the pack, Team Principal Andrea Stella was quick to single out Charles Leclerc's Sprint performance as the ultimate benchmark for long-run speed around Zandvoort.
Ferrari raised eyebrows across the paddock when they sent Leclerc to the Sprint grid on a used set of soft tires, bypassing the standard medium compound favored by the majority of the field.
However, Stella acknowledged that the Italian squad's aggressive strategy was rooted in hard data. "When we saw Leclerc starting on a used soft, we thought that that was quite ambitious, but eventually the information they got through the running in practice will have given them the confidence to do so," Stella told the media.
Leclerc's ability to manage the softer rubber over the course of the Sprint confirmed the ominous pace Ferrari had demonstrated earlier in the weekend. "I think the lap times of Ferrari in continuous laps that they showed during practice one, they were the best, and probably in the race Leclerc was still the best in terms of pace," Stella noted.
#stella #race #grid
While McLaren continues to fight at the front of the pack, Team Principal Andrea Stella was quick to single out Charles Leclerc's Sprint performance as the ultimate benchmark for long-run speed around Zandvoort.
Ferrari raised eyebrows across the paddock when they sent Leclerc to the Sprint grid on a used set of soft tires, bypassing the standard medium compound favored by the majority of the field.
However, Stella acknowledged that the Italian squad's aggressive strategy was rooted in hard data. "When we saw Leclerc starting on a used soft, we thought that that was quite ambitious, but eventually the information they got through the running in practice will have given them the confidence to do so," Stella told the media.
Leclerc's ability to manage the softer rubber over the course of the Sprint confirmed the ominous pace Ferrari had demonstrated earlier in the weekend. "I think the lap times of Ferrari in continuous laps that they showed during practice one, they were the best, and probably in the race Leclerc was still the best in terms of pace," Stella noted.
#stella #race #grid
2 months ago
