Hear from McLaren Shadow drivers James Baldwin, Dani Moreno and Team Principal Ben Daly after an exciting round in the F1 Esports Series championship.

Dani Moreno, Driver

"Round Three was another step forward in our performance. We earned our first podium and moved up to P6 in the Constructors' Championship. I'm happy with how we've been improving round after round.

"Our qualifying results do not show it, but there has been a major improvement in managing pressure. We're aiming to make the Grand Final our best one yet!"

James Baldwin, Driver

"Round Three of the F1 Esports Series was another step forward for the team. Dani did an amazing job securing McLaren Shadow's first podium of the season! I'm so happy for everyone and it's well deserved.

"I must do better in all areas my side to ensure I can contribute to the team's success going forward."

Splunk Race Trace & Tyre Wear

McLaren Shadow’s standout race was Silverstone, where Dani Moreno continued his good form by securing his maiden podium and the team’s first 2nd place in 2020, having started from 8th on the grid. Dani’s performance was supported by an aggressive strategy, pitting on Lap 6 to put on Soft tyres and undercut all his rivals to get track position. This strategy was underpinned by Dani’s underlying pace.

Mark Barnett, Director of Research and Innovation, McLaren Racing, explains more after reviewing Splunk's race performance data:

"A contributing factor is that Dani’s underlying pace was sufficient on older tyres to remain ahead of his later stopping competitors. If you have better race pace than your competitors, you can afford to pit earlier as the negative from the older tyres will be offset by the underlying pace advantage. So, you gain from the undertake and then end up with similar pace to those around you but with better track position, instead of being behind and faster.

"The strategy is aligned to a typical F1 one-stop race, where the combination of tyre degradation is not sufficient to cost Dani enough performance to enable fresher tyre competitors to overtake.

"Short races favour an earlier first stop – as it minimises the risk of being dropped into slower traffic. But with the field spread being so small (because all competitors have similar performance), and with significant pit loss, you fall well back from the pack as happened to Dani with no risk of catching the slower cars. He can then simply utilise his strong underlying pace, aided by 6 lap fresher tyres, to drive through his competitors pit windows and emerge ahead. In the real-world, competitor strategy teams would have been monitoring gaps and several would have pitted to cut off the undercut, which might have stymied Dani’s progress."

Ben Daly, Team Principal

"Overall, we made good progress in Round Three. McLaren Shadow moved up to 6th in the Constructors' Championship thanks to Dani's outstanding result at Silverstone, where he very nearly won!

"I was thoroughly impressed with that drive - not only for his aggression with the strategy to get track position, but the fact he was able to keep pace with the leaders on older tyres and fight at the very top without cracking under pressure.

"There was a contentious three-wide battle on the last lap where Dani could've risked all his points for glory, but he kept a cool head and consolidated a fantastic result for the team. This will give him a huge confidence boost heading into the Grand Final.

"I know that James personally won't be happy with his results, but thankfully time is on our side as we lead up to the final round, so there's plenty of time to get up-to-speed.

"Qualifying again will be crucial to unlocking more points in the final event. The grid is incredibly close, one tiny mistake and you can be knocked out early. Everyone has the talent to be at the front but delivering on the day without making any mistakes is what matters."

Tune in to the F1 Esports Grand Final on 16 - 17 December - you won't want to miss it!

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