At the finish of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Lando Norris was less than a second behind the winner Max Verstappen. McLaren head Andrea Stella believes the fate of the race was decided at the start.
Andrea Stella: “In qualifying the top three were within ten. At this point it became clear that tire management would be the dominant factor in the race. Another factor that played a major role was the fact that you were sitting behind another car in the ‘dirty air’.
As soon as you end up behind another car, you immediately lose speed. Therefore, starting from pole and leading into the first corner gave the advantage of an empty track, where it is easier to control tire wear and go at your own pace.
From this point of view, Max did well on Saturday. He started from pole position and held the lead until the first corner. I think that helped him control tire wear.”
Source: F1 News

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