Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri handed 'exposed' warning by McLaren boss

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has highlighted how the long run from La Source to Les Combes at Spa-Francorchamps could leave his drivers "very exposed" to the chasing pack.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked out the front row in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, securing the Woking squad's first pole position at the circuit since Jenson Button in 2012.

However, the pair could find themselves vulnerable to Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen behind on the opening lap.

"Oscar said yesterday that this is not necessarily the best place to be in pole position, because after corner one, there are 18 seconds [at] full throttle, in which you are very exposed to any car behind you who has your slipstream," Stella said to media, including RacingNews365.

"At the same time, it has become a bit of a feature - and I think this is related somehow to the cars becoming more and more developed, from an aerodynamic point of view, and more and more mature with the current technical regulations - the fact that it's very difficult to follow.

"And Spa, from being one of those tracks in which it was easy to overtake, has now it's become quite difficult. I think it was the same last year, and this year, if anything, the sprint race so far has confirmed that that was the case," he added, with the DRS zone on the Kemmel Straight having been reduced by 75 metres this year.

Battling low-downforce Leclerc

Piastri started the sprint from pole, but lost the lead to Verstappen at Les Combes (Turn 7) on the first lap, with the Dutchman able to hold on for victory over the 15-lap race, with the two McLarens in second and third.

"While, in our case, it's true that a little bit more top speed would have helped, this is only true for the first lap, because when we were trying to overtake Verstappen, in reality, the problem was that we were losing too much in the second sector because of the slipstream," Stella explained.

"Spa, in a way, has retained its characteristic in terms of the first lap and the overtaking opportunity, but what we have seen in the sprint seems to confirm that the slipstream effect is big, and it makes overtaking difficult."

Nonetheless, the Italian believes overtaking could be possible past the opening lap, especially if his drivers enjoy a pace advantage over Leclerc, despite the Ferrari driver retaining the low-downforce configuration on his SF-25.

Verstappen, meanwhile, has moved to a higher downforce approach with his RB21 in anticipation of adverse weather conditions.

"Hopefully, we won't need to overtake, but realistically, we know that, for instance, in a dry start, Leclerc behind us seems to be on a low-downforce set-up again, so we know that we will be exposed for the first lap," the 54-year-old said.

"But Lando has proven today that, if you have enough of a pace advantage, like we had on Ferrari, then it may be possible to overtake."

Stella's bold Lap 1 prediction

Stella went as far as wagering that Leclerc may emerge in the lead at the end of the first lap. However, he was quick to highlight the advice he will impart on his two drivers.

"Ferrari has a significant speed advantage, so I wouldn't be surprised if Leclerc is actually leading the group at the end of Lap 1," he contended.

"There's certainly some planning that you can do, but ultimately, you have to let the drivers make their own assessment, their own judgment.

"Certainly, what I will tell the drivers is that Lap 1 is just Lap 1 of 44, and when you have such a good, competitive car, you just have to make sure that we minimise the trouble during Lap 1.

"And then, if we execute the race in the best possible way, I think we will be in condition to regain the possibility to win the race, even if Lap 1 doesn't go according to the outcome of qualifying."