Why McLaren failed to reprise its F1 Singapore GP 2024 dominance

After two difficult grands prix on circuits less suited to the characteristics of the MCL39, Singapore looked like the ideal opportunity for McLaren to return to the spotlight and firmly fend off the threat posed by Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen.

Compared to the rounds in Monza and Baku, Marina Bay was expected to highlight the best qualities of the McLaren car. These were traits that had allowed the Woking squad to dominate in Singapore last year and win by more than 20 seconds; given how this year’s championship has unfolded, those same traits should have once again given McLaren the chance to fight for victory.

The race featured high temperatures, soft tyres requiring careful management due to strong thermal degradation, and corners that demand a sharp front end to make the car rotate. It’s no coincidence that Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, had pointed to Marina Bay as a chance for redemption and a return to winning ways.

But a similar result was not in the offering this year as it finished third and fourth. Although the MCL39 once again demonstrated its usual superiority in tyre management during the race – a quality that on another track might have allowed it to catch up to rivals – the lack of victory left a bittersweet taste on the night McLaren’s defence of the constructors’ championship had been confirmed.

So, what went wrong?

To understand the real anomaly behind the lack of dominance in Singapore, we need to go back to Friday and to Lando Norris’s words after FP2: the Briton admitted he hadn’t found the right feeling with the car, especially on the softer tyres, and had lost the sensation that, in 2024, had allowed him to dominate both qualifying and the race. The main issue was a lack of confidence in the front end.

“Lando has highlighted pretty much from the start of the season when he was talking about the front of the car, difficult to get the feeling,” Stella explained after qualifying.

“We keep having comments which, in my view, do highlight that the change of tyres from last year to this year somehow plays a little bit of a factor.

“Last year, our drivers were much more comfortable driving around Singapore and this year, right from free practice one, they made comments about the behaviour of the front tyres. This was less on hard and medium but definitely was the case on soft tyres.”

This is a key point in understanding what the MCL39 was really missing during the weekend; not so much in race pace, but rather in qualifying and overall grand prix management. Looking at Marina Bay’s layout, it’s true that the circuit is dominated by braking zones and traction areas over bumps typical of street tracks, but many corners aren’t as sharp as those in Baku, where braking is done in a straight line.

The sequence of close corners and bends that aren’t always 90 degrees make front-end precision a decisive factor, not only because braking often happens while the car is already turning, but also to better prepare the exit and subsequent traction phase. It’s true that in shorter corners McLaren tend to gain less, since it can’t fully exploit this strength, but front-end precision remains one of the MCL39’s key advantages, particularly on circuits where other teams must compromise.

In Singapore, especially on the soft compound, this advantage disappeared. Qualifying data showed that both Piastri and Norris lost time in the same sections of the middle sector, precisely where it’s crucial to carry speed through the corner and still manage to close the turn and set up traction on exit – the very areas where Mercedes laid the groundwork for pole via George Russell.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images

In terms of minimum corner speed, both McLaren drivers tried to make the difference. This is a data point that supports Stella’s remarks that the MCL39 still gained on rivals mid-corner, but not by the usual margin. The limit appeared in the final phase of cornering, crucial for preparing the exit: there, Norris and Piastri couldn’t push or rotate the car as they wanted, held back by poor front-end feel.

The underlying issue was that, with the softer compound, McLaren’s drivers couldn’t exploit the extra grip. What should have been a strength, instead, became a weakness. It was as if the tyre struggled to stay in its operating window and the narrow temperature range and the greater movement of the soft tyre in corners – which generates more heat – destabilised the MCL39.

Meanwhile, with the more stable medium and hard tyres, the car regained balance and effectiveness, particularly in the race. Norris himself confirmed he felt much more comfortable on the harder compounds.

“I feel where there’s more lap time out of it, on the medium tyres this weekend, I’ve always felt very comfortable,” he said. “The mediums have often had more front end, and it just suits me, I can get more lap time out of it. It feels more reminiscent of last year, and the feelings I want from the car I put the soft on, and I just struggle again.

“There’s still lingering feelings of the car just not performing. I can’t say in the right way because we’ve been very quick all season, but we’ve also struggled here this weekend. Those issues and the issues I’ve had this year, which is the front of the car, seem to have arose again this weekend.”

Singapore, therefore, showed the other side of McLaren’s coin: even though the team has reached the technical maturity to secure the constructors’ title well ahead of time, in specific situations (even on ‘friendly’ circuits), the MCL39 still struggles to perform at its best, especially when the margin over its rivals narrows.

It’s a reminder that, even in a dominant season, small details can still make the difference.

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– The Autosport.com Team