McLaren’s main strength over Red Bull was ‘negated’ by key Japanese Grand Prix track change

McLaren missed out on making it three victories in a row at the Japanese Grand Prix, after Max Verstappen converted his pole into a win.

The Dutchman angled his Red Bull towards Lando Norris at the start of the race and managed to get a clean start from his box, holding the lead as they went through the first corners.

All of the top 10 held the positions they qualified in, largely due to the damp patch on the inside of the circuit that spoiled some drivers getaways.

Norris settled into second and maintained a 1.5 second gap to Verstappen, waiting until the first pit stops to make a move. McLaren pitted him at the same time as Verstappen and although he emerged alongside the Red Bull, Norris took to the grass and had to slip back behind.

Many felt McLaren missed an opportunity to be bold with their strategy in the Japanese GP, with Anthony Davidson outlining how Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s strategy could have worked to put pressure on Verstappen.

According to journalist Mark Hughes in The Race, there was one main reason why McLaren was wary of using the undercut.

Suzuka resurface impacted McLaren’s decision to try undercut

Jacques Villeneuve questioned why McLaren didn’t pit Norris earlier or leave him out in clean air, in a bid to put pressure on Red Bull to react with Verstappen.

McLaren is usually better on its rear tyres than the Red Bull, but there was less graining than expected from the teams. Verstappen was also running lower downforce levels, enabling him to reach higher top speeds than Norris.

Hughes believes the newly resurfaced areas of Suzuka also negated McLaren’s main strength against Red Bull.

“In summary, the claim that the McLaren drivers lost the race on Saturday is easier to make than that the team lost it on Sunday. Furthermore, the newly resurfaced first sector, with its high bitumen content, negated the McLaren’s better rear tyre deg, denying its cars the opportunity to retaliate,” wrote Hughes.

Max Verstappen closes to within a point of Lando Norris

After he took the lead of the Drivers’ Championship away from Verstappen by winning the opening round in Melbourne, Norris is now only a point ahead of the Dutchman with his Suzuka victory.

It is the fourth victory in a row for Verstappen at the track, having won the previous three races at the Japanese circuit.

After Red Bull managed to find some performance following a difficult Friday practice, in which Verstappen was half a second off McLaren, it bodes well for his title defence.