Beating Verstappen at Zandvoort will have 'special meaning' - McLaren

Andrea Stella has recognised the significance of what a Lando Norris defeat of Max Verstappen at the Dutch Grand Prix would bring to McLaren.

Norris will start the Zandvoort race on pole position, after denying Verstappen a fourth straight home pole by 0.356s, and is looking to eat into the 78-point lead the Red Bull driver enjoys in the drivers' championship.

Since F1 returned to Zandvoort in 2021, Verstappen has comfortably won all three races, with the track not typically considered to be a 'McLaren circuit' owing to the long corners and twisty sections - traits that have appeared to be more suited to Red Bull. 

However, the MCL38 machine is widely tipped as the fastest car on the grid, usurping Red Bull's RB20, with Stella taking off his engineering cap to recognise what a Verstappen defeat would mean for Norris and the team.

"Even if I'm an engineer, I do recognise that beating Red Bull and Max here would have a special kind of flavour, even if numerically, it may give the same amount of points," he told media including RacingNews365.

"But definitely, it would have a special meaning. I would add to the special meaning, the fact that Zandvoort has been a bit of a struggle for McLaren in terms of track layout.

"It has been a place where we haven't performed very well, so if we can confirm a strong performance in the race, then this would be extremely encouraging in terms of the strides forward that we've been able to make. 

"It's interesting that the points of strength now at a circuit like this are what in the past - and when I say the past, no more than 12 months ago - was our main weakness. 

"Our technical team have been [able] to turn the characteristics of the car around and make it more competitive in the areas where we were weak. 

"These were the areas that you find very frequently in most of the circuits, so it is where you really want to be competitive, rather than being competitive in high speed [corners] and in straight lines like we used to be a couple of times a year."

To wind or not to wind

Conditions at Zandvoort have been tough throughout the weekend with high winds and heavy rain at times limiting the dry on-track running. 

Verstappen talked about difficulties with the wind after qualifying P2, but Stella believes strong car characteristics can overcome wind-sensitivity.

"The more grip you have, the more robust you might be against the wind, but not necessarily because your car is designed to cope with this level of wind, just because you may have a bit more grip," he added.

"When I say that we might have more grip, this is in some corners, like if we look at Turn 7, the high-speed long corners, Red Bull is by far the best car, and they gain time in that corner. 

"It's more about car characteristics and overall grip, rather than being more robust against the wind."