McLaren F1 Team‘s Performance Director Andrea Stella believes that the team can achieve a strong result in qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix after seeing Carlos Sainz Jr. go fourth fastest in the second practice session follow new upgrades on the car.
With Sainz completing a total of 79 laps over the two sessions and Lando Norris adding a further 71 laps, the McLaren team had a sold first day in Montreál.
“Both sessions went as planned today.” said Stella. “We had some test items to go through in free practice, which we’ve brought here thanks to the hard work going on back at the factory to deliver upgrades for us to check.
“The drivers and the team here trackside have also done a good job managing a couple of busy sessions with lots of changes.“
While Sainz finished seventh and fourth in the two sessions, Norris struggled a little with his setup and getting the most out of the car, something that the team hope to be able to get on top of going in to Saturday’s running.
“The car is behaving okay, although there are some issues with the balance and grip that we’ll try and improve overnight.
“We seem to be in the game to compete for a place in Q3 tomorrow, although we know that the midfield is very tight and therefore it will be challenging.”
