Rivals in dark as Lando Norris strikes gold with McLaren’s tyre alchemy

Muttering in pit lane over how F1 team have found such a sweet spot between aerodynamics and tyre wear

One race into the new Formula One season and the sport has been transfixed by how smartly McLaren have emerged from the blocks. A quick car is a surprise to no one but what fascinated about Lando Norris’s and Oscar Piastri’s ride is that their single greatest advantage apparently lay not in the science of aerodynamics but rather in the tyres and the dark art of mechanical grip. In which algorithms and alchemy, McLaren appear to have struck gold.

Norris’s win at the season opener in Australia caught the eye, not only with how much pace they showed but in how they achieved it, and it has the other teams worried.

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McLaren surprised by dominance in F1 opener but warn there is more to come

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