McLaren is one of the most prestigious brands in motorsport.
They have two of the most famous races in the world on their hands this weekend.
Sunday will host two of the sport’s most historic races: the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix and the 108th Indianapolis 500. Together with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, these three of his races make up the Triple Crown of Motorsport.
However, McLaren are the only team to have won all three, but this season they have the chance to win both the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 on the same day.
Strong performances from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will give F1 teams a chance to win in Monaco, where qualifying will be crucial. The streets of Monte Carlo are narrow, so overtaking in races is very important. Therefore, if you want to win the Monaco Grand Prix, it’s best to start near the front.
Norris and Piastri have just finished in the top three in qualifying at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Max Verstappen took pole position at Imola, but Piastri qualified second, with teammate Norris third. However, Norris started second as Piastri was given a three-place grid penalty for interfering with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen during the first qualifying segment.
Verstappen won the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, but only after holding off Norris, finishing less than a second behind the Red Bull driver. Piastri finished fourth and would have joined Norris on the podium had it not been for the penalty.
So Saturday will be crucial in terms of F1 if McLaren is to secure a second consecutive victory, but Norris believes the team also has a chance in Monaco.
“We’re only a third of the way through, so we still have a long way to go. So I think a lot can really happen.” Norris said: Sky Sports F1 on wednesday. “But Monaco is also a place where anything can happen. So I don’t say ‘no’ anymore.”
“I’m tired of underestimating what we could achieve as a team, so we’re going in with a positive attitude. We’ve had some very good results – second place, first place, second place – and there’s no reason why we can’t continue that here in Monaco.”
“It is unknown if this is our best track, but anything can happen at the same time.”
And on Sunday, the 108th Indianapolis 500 will be held at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Arrow McLaren has four cars in the field, including 2016 winner Alexander Rossi and NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Larson, both starting from the second row. Rossi qualified fourth for the Indianapolis 500, but Larson will start alongside Rossi in fifth place.
Mr. Rossi said SB Nation He spoke earlier this week about the team’s chances at the Indianapolis 500.
“I think I can do it. [win the Indianapolis 500]” said Rossi. SB Nation on tuesday. “You know, this is the best car I’ve driven here since finishing second in 2019. The team is operating and operating at a very high level. Obviously. As I said, eight of the top 10 have Chevrolet engines, so we have all the tools at our disposal. And potentially things that are out of our control.
“But we have every chance of winning this case and we’re just focused on that.”
Rossi also had high praise for Larson, who is attempting to become just the second driver to achieve “The Double” by completing both the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night. Larson will become just the fifth driver to attempt “The Double,” joining Tony Stewart in 2001 as the only other driver to complete both races.
“Well, Kyle was great,” Rossi said.
“You know, we grew up racing together in Northern California, I’ve known him for 20 years and his success this month was no surprise to me at all,” Rossi continued. “Looking at his résumé and what he’s done so far, I had no reason to doubt him. [or to think] He won’t be able to win this race. ”
At Tuesday’s press conference, Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports in Indianapolis and McLaren CEO Zach Brown spoke. He spoke to media such as SB Nationand how impressed they have been with Larson’s work thus far.
“Kyle never puts a wrong wheel, explores the limits of the race car and race track, and as Mr. [Hendrick] he said as he entered Turn 1. It was the same thing I saw when Fernando Alonso arrived. What I’ve discovered about these great drivers is that they can be subdivided. They know where they’re trying to get on race day, but they know on day one, day two, day three that they’re trying to accomplish certain things. . They don’t get ahead of themselves,” Brown began.
“I think what makes Kyle a championship-worthy driver is his preparation for the race. He knows now what the high line looks like, what the low line looks like, I think he understands the traffic, the dirty air, the changes in wind direction, and he explores it within his comfort zone, although from the outside he looks like me and Mr. H. “It’s not easy to watch sometimes,” the McLaren CEO continued. “It’s the same thing you saw with Fernando Alonso when he raced with Andretti. Mario was like he was going to get in trouble and then Fernando came in and I managed to get it out of the way. He was well within his comfort zone, like he was just trying to figure it out.
“I think we can all agree it takes talent to qualify fifth in your first Indy 500 without ever racing an IndyCar, so I have a lot of respect for him.”
“It’s nerve-wracking,” Hendrick said of watching Larson qualify. “So if we get into the final 12, there should be a sigh of relief. But I’m not used to seeing cars go into 241-degree corners. What I was worried about was Kyle That’s what I knew was going to push it. So I just wanted it to be over.
“But it was a great effort. As he got out of the car, I asked him a question. Like you imagine he would be excited, or – and he said, It was like my job.”
However, Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsport may have to make a difficult decision on Sunday. With rain and thunderstorms in the forecast, the Indianapolis 500 could be postponed, forcing the team to make a decision to replace Larson and have him participate in the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.
“Well, that’s a tough question, we’ve talked about it a lot and we know we have to go to Charlotte to get the points,” Hendrick said Tuesday when asked about potential weather conditions at Indianapolis.
“It’s going to be very tough. It’s going to be very tough,” the NASCAR legend continued. “It’s a huge shame because everyone has worked so hard, from Arrow McLaren to Zack to the marketing guys. “Indy has a huge staff and he’s in a really good position, so it’s a huge shame. It would be difficult.”
Regardless of whether Larson is in the field, Arrow McLaren is using Rossi with former Indianapolis winner and 2022 runner-up Pato O’Ward. Rossi and Larsson will start on the second row, while O’Ward will start in eighth place on the third row behind them.
Arrow McLaren’s Callum Ilott is also participating and will start from 15th.
McLaren won the team triple crown in 1995, but the journey began long before that when driver Johnny Rutherford won the 1974 Indianapolis 500. In 1984, Alain Prost gave McLaren its first victory at Monaco, and in 1995 McLaren won the Le Mans 24 Hours with JJ Lehto, Masanori Sekiya and Yannick Dalmas.
That journey took more than 20 years.
But this weekend, McLaren could win two legs of motorsport’s Triple Crown in the space of a few hours.
