02/08/2025 19:10
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has claimed Oscar Piastri and
Lando Norris "paid the price" for the sudden change in wind
direction between Q2 and Q3 in qualifying at the Hungaroring. The
two drivers will start the Hungarian Grand Prix in second and third
on the grid, respectively, after falling victim to the "very weird"
conditions on the outskirts of Budapest. That left the door open
for Charles Leclerc to capitalise on their vulnerability, the
Ferrari driver pinching his first pole position of the season from
under the papaya pairs' noses with a sublime effort in his SF-25.
After the session, Stella admitted the Woking squad had been
looking forward to watching its drivers lock-out the front row, an
endeavour they ultimately failed in. "Well, having seen the
performance of the car in practice and also in Q1 and Q2, we were
certainly looking forward to trying to lock-out the first row on
the grid," the Italian told Sky Sport F1 . "But today, the
conditions were very weird, very dependent on the wind. There was a
change of conditions from Q2 to Q3, and I have to say, we paid a
bit of a price." The 54-year-old explained that Piastri and Norris
may have been too "cautious" amid the changed conditions, unable to
improve in their superior MCL39s whilst Leclerc did. "I think our
drivers might have also been a bit cautious, because you never knew
what kind of grip you would find for each corner, so we went
four-tenths slower than Q2, while Leclerc went faster, and he
deserved the pole position - well done to Leclerc, and well done to
Ferrari," he added. Why a change in wind direction matter Stella
explained why the flip in wind direction from a tailwind to a
headwind was so destabilising, highlighting that drivers cannot see
a force that can have a considerable effect on the performance of
an F1 car. "Formula 1 cars are aerodynamic machines, and having
headwind, having tailwind or sidewind, makes so much of an effect
in terms of the grip that you experience in a corner, and for the
drivers, this is also not visible," he stated. "So while we give
the drivers some references as to the wind direction, on days like
today, especially in Q3, it was very gusty and very variable. "So,
it depends a little bit on the amount of risk that you want to
take, and then you have to make some adaptations based on how the
wind is behaving."
