McLaren can use its clear position in third place in the constructors’ championship as “a trampoline” to try and challenge Red Bull and Ferrari with upgrades, according to team principal Andrea Stella.
While conceding that last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix was a missed opportunity to score points, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu believes it was a demonstration of an upward trajectory in potential for the rest of the 2024 season.
Fernando Alonso believes his performance at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he finished sixth, was one of the best of his career. Qualifying in fifth place, Alonso had warned that he feels he regularly overachieves in qualifying and then slips back to the team’s average position over a race dist.
Sergio Perez says he can be strong at any circuit this season given his improved performance across the last two Japanese Grand Prix weekends. Suzuka was towards the end of the 2023 calendar and Perez struggled in October, qualifying some 0.
Toto Wolff believes the Japanese Grand Prix has yielded some important answers to perplexing questions for Mercedes as it gains an understanding of how to extract performance from its car.