McLaren warns Max Verstappen has “powerful weapon” in…

As expected, McLaren locked out the front row for Formula 1's Dutch Grand Prix. The outcome was, however, slightly surprising in two ways.

Firstly, Oscar Piastri struck when it mattered most, despite Lando Norris having had the edge in all practice sessions. Secondly, the gap to Max Verstappen was significantly smaller than anticipated after FP3. During that final practice session, McLaren had pulled nearly a second clear of the entire field, but in qualifying Verstappen managed to cut the margin down considerably.

“The most interesting thing is that this morning we were still eight tenths behind McLaren and now it’s only two tenths,” Helmut Marko told Motorsport.com after qualifying. “On used tyres we’re even closer, so I think we’re in a position to make McLaren nervous on Sunday.”

Verstappen himself was more sceptical, saying that holding on to third place would be tough enough. “It's a bit unknown, but I do think that what we have on the car now should be more stable. But this season in general, our race pace has not been the best if you compare it to a qualifying lap. I just hope that at least we can keep the guys behind us literally behind us in the race.”

McLaren wary of Verstappen threat

Verstappen doesn’t expect to challenge the papaya team for another home win, but McLaren team principal Andrea Stella isn’t ruling that scenario out. He is wary of assuming the McLaren pairing will be fighting only each other, both on track and strategically – just like in Budapest.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

“The strategy is one of the variables through which the competition between Lando and Oscar can express itself,“ he said. “But let me first say that we have Lando, we have Oscar, and we have Max Verstappen. The first thing we have to do in the interest of the team and in the interest of Lando and Oscar is to make sure that we beat Max, who is not very far. He is two tenths away from us.”

Securing a 1-2 finish remains the top priority before any internal McLaren battle is considered. “I think it will be interesting, not only between the two McLaren drivers, but also with other drivers. Max for instance, has a new soft that he saved from qualifying, and it could be a pretty powerful weapon if you can deploy that weapon strategically at the right time.”

Extra flexibility for Red Bull – but is it useful?

The question, however, is how realistic it is to actually use that fresh set of softs during the race. On Friday, Marko already predicted a one-stop strategy without using the softest compound that Pirelli has brought to the Dutch dunes: “The harder the compound, the better we are. It's a medium-hard race with one stop for sure. So our hopes are in this direction.”

Tyre supplier Pirelli acknowledges the same, even with the pitlane speed limit increased from 60km/h to 80km/h at Zandvoort. “On paper, medium-hard-hard was a quick strategy, where you can also push more. But considering how difficult it is to overtake here, the one-stop is a possibility. You protect your track position,” explained Pirelli’s Mario Isola.

That said, Verstappen’s extra set of softs does give Red Bull more flexibility in theory. If the team commits to a one-stopper, the softs could still be kept in reserve for the final stages of the race – for example if a free pitstop opportunity arises or if the team wants to go on the attack.

“It's interesting to observe that the soft is a compound that could be used for a stint of the race”, Isola continued. “If you start planning a strategy medium-hard, and then realise that the stints are not long enough or for any reason you need an extra stint, then you can use a soft at the end.”

If, on the other hand, the plan is a two-stop strategy from the start, Isola prefers another option: “If you plan a strategy with two stops from the beginning, then we believe that soft-hard-medium is better. Because you have the advantage of a soft that is giving you more grip at the start of the race, and then you develop the rest of the race with a hard and a medium.”

Andrea Stella, McLaren (Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images)

That scenario doesn’t seem particularly likely, though, given Marko’s insistence on a one-stopper. But even then, in the right circumstances, the extra set of softs could come in handy. It would at least prevent a repeat of Barcelona, where Red Bull ran out of options during a late safety car. Verstappen only had a fresh set of hards available – and taking them turned out to be a disastrous choice that fuelled frustration, ultimately leading to the incident with George Russell.

For the Dutch Grand Prix, Red Bull has the set of softs as a joker, which in conclusion seems more of a Plan B – something to keep in reserve. Whether it can actually be put to good use depends firstly on the weather, and secondly on McLaren’s race pace. If the Woking team is as dominant as it was last year at Zandvoort – when Norris pulled away from the field convincingly – then, for the competition, no amount of tyre flexibility will make a difference.