{"id":195312,"date":"2025-10-07T12:02:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T12:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/195312\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T12:02:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T12:02:11","slug":"why-mclaren-failed-to-reprise-its-f1-singapore-gp-2024-dominance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/195312\/","title":{"rendered":"Why McLaren failed to reprise its F1 Singapore GP 2024 dominance"},"content":{"rendered":"

After two difficult grands prix on circuits less suited to the characteristics of the MCL39, Singapore looked like the ideal opportunity for McLaren<\/a> to return to the spotlight and firmly fend off the threat posed by Formula 1 world champion\u00a0Max Verstappen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Compared to the rounds in Monza and Baku, Marina Bay was expected to highlight the best qualities of the McLaren car. These were traits that had allowed the Woking squad to dominate in Singapore last year and win by more than 20 seconds; given how this year\u2019s championship has unfolded, those same traits should have once again given McLaren the chance to fight for victory.<\/p>\n

The race featured high temperatures, soft tyres requiring careful management due to strong thermal degradation, and corners that demand a sharp front end to make the car rotate. It\u2019s no coincidence that Andrea Stella, McLaren\u2019s team principal, had pointed to Marina Bay as a chance for redemption and a return to winning ways.<\/p>\n

But a similar result was not in the offering this year as it finished third and fourth. Although the MCL39 once again demonstrated its usual superiority in tyre management during the race – a quality that on another track might have allowed it to catch up to rivals – the lack of victory left a bittersweet taste on the night McLaren’s defence of the constructors’ championship had been confirmed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, what went wrong?<\/p>\n

To understand the real anomaly behind the lack of dominance in Singapore, we need to go back to Friday and to Lando Norris\u2019s words after FP2<\/a>: the Briton admitted he hadn\u2019t found the right feeling with the car, especially on the softer tyres, and had lost the sensation that, in 2024, had allowed him to dominate both qualifying and the race. The main issue was a lack of confidence in the front end.<\/p>\n

\"Oscar <\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri, McLaren<\/p>\n

Photo by: Zak Mauger \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

“Lando has highlighted pretty much from the start of the season when he was talking about the front of the car, difficult to get the feeling,” Stella explained after qualifying.<\/p>\n

“We keep having comments which, in my view, do highlight that the change of tyres from last year to this year somehow plays a little bit of a factor.<\/p>\n

“Last year, our drivers were much more comfortable driving around Singapore and this year, right from free practice one, they made comments about the behaviour of the front tyres. This was less on hard and medium but definitely was the case on soft tyres.”<\/p>\n

This is a key point in understanding what the MCL39 was really missing during the weekend; not so much in race pace, but rather in qualifying and overall grand prix management. Looking at Marina Bay\u2019s layout, it\u2019s true that the circuit is dominated by braking zones and traction areas over bumps typical of street tracks, but many corners aren\u2019t as sharp as those in Baku, where braking is done in a straight line.<\/p>\n

The sequence of close corners and bends that aren\u2019t always 90 degrees make front-end precision a decisive factor, not only because braking often happens while the car is already turning, but also to better prepare the exit and subsequent traction phase. It\u2019s true that in shorter corners McLaren tend to gain less, since it can\u2019t fully exploit this strength, but front-end precision remains one of the MCL39\u2019s key advantages, particularly on circuits where other teams must compromise.<\/p>\n

In Singapore, especially on the soft compound, this advantage disappeared. Qualifying data showed that both Piastri and Norris lost time in the same sections of the middle sector, precisely where it\u2019s crucial to carry speed through the corner and still manage to close the turn and set up traction on exit – the very areas where Mercedes<\/a> laid the groundwork for pole via George Russell<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Max <\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Photo by: Colin McMaster \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

In terms of minimum corner speed, both McLaren drivers tried to make the difference. This is a data point that supports Stella\u2019s remarks that the MCL39 still gained on rivals mid-corner, but not by the usual margin. The limit appeared in the final phase of cornering, crucial for preparing the exit: there, Norris and Piastri couldn\u2019t push or rotate the car as they wanted, held back by poor front-end feel.<\/p>\n

The underlying issue was that, with the softer compound, McLaren\u2019s drivers couldn\u2019t exploit the extra grip. What should have been a strength, instead, became a weakness. It was as if the tyre struggled to stay in its operating window and the narrow temperature range and the greater movement of the soft tyre in corners – which generates more heat – destabilised the MCL39.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, with the more stable medium and hard tyres, the car regained balance and effectiveness, particularly in the race. Norris himself confirmed he felt much more comfortable on the harder compounds.<\/p>\n

“I feel where there’s more lap time out of it, on the medium tyres this weekend, I’ve always felt very comfortable,” he said. “The mediums have often had more front end, and it just suits me, I can get more lap time out of it.\u00a0It feels more reminiscent of last year, and the feelings I want from the car I put the soft on, and I just struggle again.<\/p>\n

“There’s still lingering feelings of the car just not performing. I can’t say in the right way because we’ve been very quick all season, but we’ve also struggled here this weekend. Those issues and the issues I’ve had this year, which is the front of the car, seem to have arose again this weekend.”<\/p>\n

Singapore, therefore, showed the other side of McLaren\u2019s coin: even though the team has reached the technical maturity to secure the constructors\u2019 title well ahead of time, in specific situations (even on ‘friendly’ circuits), the MCL39 still struggles to perform at its best, especially when the margin over its rivals narrows.<\/p>\n

It’s a reminder that, even in a dominant season, small details can still make the difference.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

We want to hear from you!<\/p>\n

Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.<\/p>\n

Take our survey<\/a><\/p>\n

– The Autosport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After two difficult grands prix on circuits less suited to the characteristics of the MCL39, Singapore looked like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,1737,114904,913,2333,37177,85,123022],"class_list":{"0":"post-195312","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-f1","11":"tag-formula-1","12":"tag-formula1","13":"tag-lando-norris","14":"tag-marina-bay-street-circuit","15":"tag-mclaren","16":"tag-oscar-piastri","17":"tag-singapore-gp","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-why-mclaren-failed-to-reprise-its-f1-singapore-gp-2024-dominance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}