P1racenews AI automatic summary:
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella admits that Max Verstappen’s “below expectation” pace in the early stages of the United States
Lando Norris started second in the race and took the lead from the start, but Max Verstappen passed him on Lap 27. McLaren’s strategy was focused on going for the victory, so they pushed Norris to go as fast as possible, which caused tire degradation in the later laps. Norris was eventually overtaken by Lewis Hamilton and finished second after Hamilton’s disqualification. McLaren’s team manager, Andrea Stella, admitted that they still need to work on improving lap times and tire degradation. Verstappen’s slower start gave McLaren hope of winning, but his teammate Sergio Perez’s fifth-place finish showed that Red Bull didn’t have much pace advantage. Stella noted that Verstappen’s pace in the first stint was lower than expected, and the Hard tires might not have been the optimal choice compared to the Medium tires.
Source: Motorsport Week
