Why do we see a huge contrast in F1 teams' performance from one track to another? McLaren director explains

McLaren's executive director of engineering Neil Oatley recently explained why the 2023 F1 cars apart from Red Bull and Aston Martin are so inconsistent from track to track.

We have seen a few teams suddenly jump up the grid in a few races while struggling in others. As a renowned engineer in F1, Oatley gave his reasoning and analysis.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, the McLaren personnel initially spoke about Red Bull and Aston Martin and how both teams have developed a stable enough car that can perform great on almost all circuits.

Later, he stated how other cars on the grid have small problems that are affecting them in various types of corners in a track and said:

"I think the two cars you mentioned are fairly neutral cars and they don't have many bad points, whereas I think the rest of us have got small problems with cars being inconsistent from different types of corners to another, different speeds, etc."

In a more generalized approach, Oatley claimed how difficult modern F1 cars are to handle. He elucidated how some teams have figured out the equation to develop a great car, while others are still working on the solutions.

McLaren's engineer concluded:

"Modern Formula 1 cars are incredibly difficult to drive. They're very sensitive to steering, ride heights, etc. Some people have got the equation exactly right and others are still struggling a little bit."

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Lando Norris happy to see McLaren expand in terms of personnel

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 YouTube channel, Lando Norris spoke about how McLaren are gradually expanding by bringing in more people with greater experience to improve the team. The team recently announced that they appointed Rob Marshall from Red Bull who will start working for them in 2024.

Norris said:

"Of course, from the side of the team, and the new people, very happy. I think there's some big names coming in, which is always a great thing, a great addition."

Norris went on to explain how important it is for team members to have experience under their belt to understand the issues and solve them. He claimed that experience is one of the biggest plus points for anyone in F1. He added:

"People who have been in the sport for many years who have been a crucial part in the success of all the teams a lot of success in other teams. So, just knowledge is one of the biggest things in Formula One and personnel."

Though Lando Norris assured that the members working for McLaren in the past were not bad, he simply restated his words and elucidated how the team is merely expanding.