Analysis of McLaren’s Strategy in the Qatar Grand Prix
The McLaren team boss, Andrea Stella, has explained the reasons behind his team’s strategic error at the Qatar Grand Prix. Stella promised that the team will learn from this experience to improve in future races. The decision not to bring Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris into the pits during a safety car period in Qatar had significant consequences. This opened the way for Max Verstappen to win the race, depriving Piastri of a crucial victory. This strategic error could have wider implications for McLaren, as Verstappen’s victory put him ahead of Piastri in the drivers’ standings and just 12 points behind championship leader Norris, with one race remaining to end the season. Stella explained that McLaren didn’t take the opportunity to bring their cars into the pits on lap 7 because they feared that Piastri, who ultimately finished second, and Norris, who finished fourth, would get stuck in traffic if rival teams chose to stay on the track. It turned out that all the other cars in the race pitted during the safety car period, which meant that McLaren led when the race resumed, but was one pit stop behind its rivals, including Verstappen.
Oscar Piastri started from pole and finished second in the race.
Stella admitted that the team will review its decision and learn from it. “I think in terms of error of judgment, it’s something we’ll have to review, discussing internally,” she added. «We will have to evaluate some factors such as, for example, whether there was a certain bias in the way we were thinking that led us as a group to think that not all cars would necessarily have entered the pits. Sometimes there are some objective reasons and sometimes there may be some biases in the way you think. We will have to go through the review in a very thorough way, but the important thing is that we do it as usual in a way that is constructive, analytical». «Races are tough, races can give you hard lessons, but this is the story of the champions. This is just the story of Formula 1, this is the true nature of racing. We are disappointed, but as soon as we start the review, we will be even more determined to learn from our lessons, adapt and be stronger as a team». A theory as to why McLaren chose not to pit on lap 7 was that Norris, who was third at the time of the safety car, would lose time queuing behind Piastri in the pit box. “Well, certainly for Lando there was the additional consideration, as you say, of losing additional time due to the double pit stop,” explained Stella. «So it was under consideration, but it wasn’t the main reason for not stopping both cars. We thought the traffic might have been a problem for both cars and, as I said before, that wasn’t actually the correct interpretation of the situation at the time we should have had it». McLaren boss Zak Brown summarized his thoughts in a social media post after the race. “No excuses, we got it wrong today and take full responsibility, as we could have won that race with both drivers on the podium,” he said. “Both drivers deserved more. Oscar was dominant all weekend. It’s time to analyze, reset, and come back stronger in Abu Dhabi.”“Indeed, we conceded a pit stop to a rival who was fast today,” said Stella. “Obviously, we did it for a reason and the reason was that we didn’t want to end up in traffic after the pit stop, but obviously all the other cars and teams had a different opinion in relation to a safety car on lap 7.”
Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal
