McLaren boss commends Red Bull’s narrative building in managing 'non-technical opportunities'
McLaren boss, Andrea Stella, commends rival team, Red Bull's way of managing their " non-technical opportunities" and creating a narrative around the paddock of displaying themselves as an underdog. The two top teams are engaged in a war of words this season. Red Bull also alleged that McLaren were using water to cool their tyres and gain performance.
Stella said their rivals are "extremely good" at creating a narrative in their favour during title fights. McLaren won the Constructors' last year, beating Red Bull after their dream run. McLaren have won all the races this year, apart from the Japanese Grand Prix, which was won by Max Verstappen.
"Red Bull is very good at making fast cars, they are exceptionally good at driving fast cars, and they are extremely good at creating the narrative to their advantage. They exploit every possible opportunity to stay in the competition, like sometimes, they create the narrative like: 'Oh, we are making miracles here, the others should win every single practice, qualifying, and race. But this is the narrative created by some of our competitors, which we read occasionally, but then we change the page and focus on ourselves. So yeah, well done to Red Bull, even in terms of the way they manage their non-technical opportunities." Andrea Stella told the media (via Racingnews365)
Stella also talked about how McLaren deal with the narrative created by their competitors. He said that they focus on themselves and improve their performance while reading about other teams occasionally.
McLaren announce driver change months in advance
McLaren have announced who will be driving their car in Free Practice 1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix this October. The IndyCar star Pato O' Ward will be taking over the MCL 39 during the FP1 session in October. The driver has previously driven in FP1 sessions during the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix. He has also conducted private testing for the defending Constructors' champions.
"I’m excited to be jumping back in the car for FP1 at my home race in Mexico this year. The Mexico City fans were unbelievable last time out, and it was a great feeling being able to extract everything from the programme that the team had planned. I’m looking forward to going again this year, working with Zak, Andrea, and the whole team," O' Ward told the media (via racingnews365)
It is unannounced who O'Ward will be replacing for the session between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Under the new rules, the drivers must give up their cars for two FP1 sessions individually.