Now that everyone managed to wake up to watch the race
)) and we calmed down after the comments during the race (the Ferraris will overtake us, we're not up against Aston, Mercedes is faster) we have to keep in mind the following things, in my opinion:
1.
The team did an excellent job after the sprint race setting up the car in such a way that the tire degradation was not as pronounced in the main race as it was in the sprint where, after a few laps, both Lando and Oscar had to take care of the rear tires.
2.
Lando managed an excellent race both in terms of tire management and strategy, the stop on VSC being the move that led to this possible P2. No mistake from Lando, even receiving praise from the pits for the average tire degradation level, according to the team's data the best of all the teams. Here, as a parenthesis, there was a confusion on the part of the organizers about where to send the cars that finished on the podium. The message reached Lando quite late, when he was already on the bus line. And after that, both Max and Perez were sent to the pits, where it was "parc ferme". So another cheap irony for Lando, undeserved.
3. Unfortunately
Oscar had a good race until the collision with Ricciardo's car. Even though he radioed that he didn't feel the hit, it seems that the impact was 4 points from the front wing. So that the car is properly balanced. As he has not made any pit stops, Oscar had to make efforts to adjust this imbalance from the pilot. However, it should be appreciated that he managed to keep Hamilton's car at a distance, another proof of the superiority of McLaren vs Mercedes.
So, as a conclusion,
a very good race for McLaren, important points in the constructors' ranking, which consolidates P3, plus hopes that, at this moment, if not Max's RedBull, at least Perez's and the Ferraris can be beaten.
though I will say that Perez and ferraris underperformed significantly, but McLaren's step forward from sprint to race pace surely was also substantial
