McLaren boss Andrea Stella has insisted the team was open to pitting both cars on the same lap in Formula 1‘s Belgian Grand Prix, but Lando Norris opted against it.
Oscar Piastri extended his gap in the championship to 16 points as he usurped Norris in mixed conditions at Spa-Francorchamps to head McLaren’s third straight 1-2.
Norris’ run to pole position ensured he led the pack when the race started later than scheduled with a rolling start, but Piastri surged past him on the Kemmel Straight.
That move proved decisive as it guaranteed that Piastri received priority at McLaren once the track dried out and he headed into the pits to switch to slicks on Lap 12.
Norris lapped once more around the 4.352-mile track until he boxed to discard his Intermediates, where a slow stop contributed to him dropping nine seconds behind.
But while he adopted the more durable Hard compound on his MCL39 compared to Piastri on the Mediums, Norris came up short in his quest to catch his team-mate.
The Briton conceded that he would have to review the pitstop timing, as Stella highlighted that the choice to pit on an identical lap to Piastri had been available to him.
“Yes, we did consider double-stacking,” Stella told media including Motorsport Week. “At the same time, it was possible for Lando to deviate.
“He opted to deviate, which would have given him the possibility to go on Hard tyres, which is what he decided to do.
“Actually, I thought at some stage that that could have been a very good move, but I have to say that Oscar managed a very solid and strong stint on the Medium tyres.
“Even if Lando was, on average, a little bit faster, that was not enough to attack Oscar at the end.
“So, double-stacking, yes, it was considered, but there was the option to deviate, and it’s the option that Lando took.”
Norris was given ‘open choice’ on tyre choice
Stella has also emphasised that McLaren didn’t compel the drivers to run split strategies, citing that Norris had the option to use the Medium tyres like his team-mate.
“In terms of tyres, there was no prescription, but in fairness, the Medium is what we were talking about at the pit wall,” he explained.
“Then, Lando, based on the conditions of the track, and considering how rapidly it was drying up, we thought that the Hard tyre was possible.
“But Medium was always our main choice. The choice was open, though.”
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