Tire problems prevent McLaren from qualifying

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ended the battle in qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the first session. The team explained this result by problems with heating the rubber and its high granulation.

Lando Norris (16th): “Disappointing end to qualifying. We had a good pace in the third practice, but in qualifying we were not able to coordinate all parts. The tires did not perform as we expected – the granulation was very strong. Maybe it was worth installing a second set.

However, we will have opportunities in the race. The pace of the car is much better than our qualifying results, and many of them are not starting from their usual positions. In the evening we work on our race plan and try to earn points.”

Oscar Piastri (19th): “It is clear that qualifying did not go according to plan. You need to think about your tire strategy. If the other teams used two sets of tires in the first session, this explains why we were behind.

The result was somewhat unexpected after the third practice, both in terms of tire performance and pace. Before qualifying, the prospects seemed promising. It’s a shame that we got such a result, but there are a lot of long straights on this track and I hope we can make up for the race.”

Andrea Stella, team manager: “We continue to have problems all weekend in Vegas. Difficulty in bringing the car into range and problems with the tires – they are not easy to warm up, but at the same time they are very easy to break due to granulation.

Despite this, we managed to show good progress in the first part, but it was not enough. We only used one set of tires, which deteriorated quickly. The result was that we could not stay ahead of our rivals, who used two sets each. We will take this into account during our race preparations.

Sunday could be an eventful day, with tires playing a major role. We will do our best to win back and earn some points.”