The McLaren team has prepared a number of new products for the French Grand Prix and evaluated their effectiveness in training. On Friday night, Lando Norris and Daniel Riccardo commented on the results of this work in slightly different ways.
Lando Norris (6th): “Technical innovations presented this weekend may add, but not as much as I’d like. However, we did not expect any clear progress, recognizing that this is only a small step forward.
It is too early to draw definitive conclusions. So far I felt that the behavior of the car has changed a bit and has really gotten better in some respects, but there is still work to be done on some aspects. Overall, the results are relatively normal, but in my opinion Daniel quickly figured out how the new products work, and I’m still adjusting to them.
You get used to a certain behavior of the car, and if it changes, you first have to understand what is happening to it, for what reason and what needs to be done to reach its full potential again. I guess I didn’t understand all this right away, so somehow I have to catch up to catch up with my partner. But in the evening we will analyze everything and try to prepare as best we can for tomorrow’s qualifying.
I’m not surprised that car sway is still evident on this track, but I think only Red Bull Racing doesn’t have it, and Ferrari and Mercedes cars are quite prone to it. But when we try to increase the speed of the car, we sometimes encounter this phenomenon.
However, this is not always a bad thing: sometimes it is a sign that we are on the right track. In the evening, when we analyze the results of the training, we will try to understand what the increased build-up indicates, is it good or bad.
Daniel Riccardo (9th): “I feel that the behavior of the car has changed thanks to the new products. On the other hand, we haven’t ridden Paul Ricard on these machines yet, so we have to compare it to what was on other tracks.
And yet I really felt a difference, although it is difficult for me to explain in detail where it manifests itself. This will be discussed in the course of the analysis of the results of the training. As usual we will carry out this work on Friday evening after the work on the track has been completed, but in general we can say that today everything went quite smoothly.
I did a lot of laps and the car wasn’t that hot. The most important thing was to find out the settings and what speeds we are capable of on this track, that will become clear after qualifying. But as long as I’m not worried, it was a perfectly normal Friday after which I have to do my usual homework.”
James Key, Executive Technical Director: “The first day of the weekend was quite productive. During the first session, Daniel tried out a range of new products that we had prepared for this weekend, we collected information about their performance on the track and selected the optimal mechanical settings to match the improved aerodynamic body kit.
Lando continued to drive the car of the previous specification at the time, so that we could compare the two versions. He also worked with basic settings and tires in the first practice, and new items were fitted to his car in between sessions.
A lot of information has been gathered that has yet to be analysed, but the first reviews we heard from the riders were positive. For starters, it’s good. We will continue this work to understand the impact of new aerodynamic elements on the efficiency of the MCL36, and we hope to optimize both machines tomorrow.”
Source: F1 News
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