McLaren rivals think they’ve uncovered the ‘trick’ that makes Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri uncatchable

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McLaren went into qualifying not wondering whether they would secure pole position, but what the gap would be to the next car on the grid.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris locked out the front row with relative ease, but Max Verstappen was within three-tenths of the McLaren drivers.

That might have taken team principal Andrea Stella by surprise, but the gap was still relatively comfortable considering how close the rest of the grid was.

David Coulthard noticed a positive change in Norris at the Dutch Grand Prix, but it wasn’t enough to pip Piastri to his fifth pole position of his career.

Instead, Norris lamented his luck running out in qualifying, with a change in wind direction on his final run ending his hopes of starting from the front of the grid in back-to-back races at Zandvoort.

Throughout the season, the other nine teams in the paddock have been trying to work out how to close the gap to McLaren.

The upcoming 2026 regulation changes have meant teams have only had limited capacity to work on this year’s cars, but the ‘trick’ McLaren have used might have finally been uncovered.

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

McLaren brake vents ‘trick’ uncovered by F1 rivals at the Dutch Grand Prix

A report from the German outlet Auto Motor und Sport has shared more details about McLaren’s supremacy at Zandvoort, and how their rivals feel about it.

McLaren’s drivers gained significant time over the rest of the field at turns 9 and 10, while Ferrari were losing six-tenths alone during practice.

Fred Vasseur admitted. “We were always on the verge of bouncing. That causes skidding. In the fast corners, the tyres heat up and are then too hot for the slow corners 9 and 10.”

At that point in the lap, the rear tyres and the front left tyre were at the wrong temperature, leading to poor traction.

It’s believed that McLaren were able to keep their tyres at the right temperature because of a ‘trick’ with their brake vents.

This allows them more temperature control, as well as the fact that Norris and Piastri don’t have to deal with the same amount of bouncing as their rivals.

“We took measures to better protect the tyres in the fast corners. This reduced our gap in the critical corners from six to three-tenths,” Vasseur admitted, before revealing: “Lewis and Charles had to get used to a completely new setup in qualifying.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Red Bull dealing with wind issue at Zandvoort as Max Verstappen chases return to winning ways

Mercedes are confident that their car will be better suited to race conditions than maximising performance over one lap.

Vasseur admitted his team’s Ferrari ‘have a problem’ on tracks like Zandvoort that require maximum downforce, which might be a worrying omen for Monza next week.

Verstappen is McLaren’s closest challenger, and technical director Pierre Wache has been explaining where Red Bull feel they could be vulnerable on Sunday.

He said: “Our car is extremely susceptible to wind on tracks with maximum downforce.

“With a tailwind on the finish straight and a crosswind in the middle section, we got the worst-case scenario. We tried to minimise the wind’s impact on us with the setup.

“We only partially succeeded. The first corner remained a problem.

“Especially with full tanks, you’re more cautious in the fast corners so as not to overtax the tyres.”

Red Bull appeared to sacrifice some downforce, judging by their top speeds, to try and protect their tyres.

Helmut Marko confirmed: “There’s a certain risk in our setup choice, but Max believes he can keep it under control in the race. I think we’re capable of troubling the McLarens in the race.”