Toto Wolff: “We overheat tires after two laps, McLaren push like there’s no tomorrow”. The head of the Mercedes pit wall revisits the topic of McLaren’s tire management.

McLaren’s Magic
The McLaren seen during Bahrain testing and the Australian Grand Prix weekend appeared dominant compared to the competition, to the point that in Melbourne, they pulled 15 seconds clear of Max Verstappen at one stage. Rain and the Safety Car later masked what could have been a much larger advantage. In short, the British team has managed to improve an already strong project from the end of 2024, bringing an even more efficient MCL39 to the track compared to last year’s successful MCL38.

Tire Management Under Scrutiny
One thing is certain: McLaren is maximizing its car’s ability to minimize tire wear. Christian Horner pointed this out after the race: “It’s very strange how they manage to heat up the tires well while also consuming them very little. Usually, one comes at the expense of the other,” suggesting that their advantage comes from “a mix of aerodynamics and mechanics.”

Mercedes’ Toto Wolff highlighted the same aspect: “McLaren is simply too good at tire management. You can push for a lap or two, but as soon as you go outside the operating window, you overheat them. They, on the other hand, have such a wide window that they can push, push, push like there’s no tomorrow.” – he pointed out.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella responded to the rivals’ observations: “We set technical targets with aerodynamics, but we also wanted to improve tire interaction. And I think, once again, we’ve seen that the car works very well with the tires because in the first stint, we were able to open a gap on our rivals, which I don’t think is just down to the car itself. This level of competitiveness surprises us—not in terms of our objectives, but in its extent.” – the former Ferrari race engineer explained at the end of the Australian Grand Prix.