McLaren boss Andrea Stella has revealed that the team’s drivers have accepted split strategies will remain a “variable” going into Formula 1‘s Dutch Grand Prix.
Stella emphasised that deviations between team-mates are managed within the team’s rules, with both drivers aware that tyre choices, pit stops, and race scenarios at Zandvoort can lead to differing approaches on track.
The debate arose after Lando Norris chose a one-stop strategy in Hungary, which ultimately secured him victory, while Oscar Piastri stuck to the original two-stop plan. Afterwards, Stella suggested McLaren will continue allowing both drivers to run split strategies for the remainder of the 2025 season, provided neither driver is caught by surprise.
With Piastri and Norris securing yet another front row lockout, this time in the Netherlands, questions over the strategy dominated the conversation after qualifying.
“The strategy is one of the variables through which the competition between Lando and Oscar can express itself, can be unfolded,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“Based on the difficulties in overtaking and the fact that there could also be some [wet] weather, first of all, we have to make sure that we as a team get the best result for the team with Lando and Oscar finishing in the order that the car performance would say.
“At the moment, we can see that McLaren is the fastest car. When it comes to the options from a strategic point of view, between our two drivers, we do have some rules for that.
“I’m not going to share what rules they are, but whatever you have seen so far in terms of how the strategy has been utilised, it’s always been within our rules.
“So it’s perfectly right, for instance, that there are deviations in terms of strategy. Not necessarily this is gambling, like in Hungary, the one stop wasn’t completely out of the cards.”
McLaren emphasises controlled flexibility in split strategies
McLaren’s approach to split strategies highlights the team’s controlled flexibility, allowing drivers to explore different options without breaking the rules.
Stella continued to explain that while some strategies might seem unlikely, they are never simply a gamble, and that the tactical battle could play out not just between Norris and Piastri, but across the entire field.
“It was unlikely to be one of the strategies, but it wasn’t simply a matter of a gamble,” he added on his thoughts on Norris’ one-stop in Hungary. “Even here, the strategy is not far between a one and a two stop. So I think it will be once again interesting, not only between the two McLaren drivers, but also with the other drivers.”
Stella was also asked whether managing Piastri’s disappointment after Hungary had affected the drivers’ approach to split strategies.
“Like I said before, the one or the two stop in Hungary, it was something that initially seemed to lead towards the two stop, but the one stop wasn’t completely out of the cards,” he replied.
“Definitely, we had our debriefs, our reviews, our conversations, but both drivers, Oscar included, accepted that there’s a degree of variability in racing.
“There’s a level of variation of scenarios that can [be realised] and that are not necessarily under your control. At the time at which we stopped Oscar, we didn’t think in fairness that Lando would have been in condition to beat Oscar or [Charles] Leclerc because we thought that all cars were going on a two-stop.
“When Lando found himself in [a] condition to extend and see if one stop was possible, then credit to Lando that he managed the tyres very well and made the one stop work.
“But this didn’t create any sort of concern in terms of our two drivers because this was all fair and square and within the principles that we have set out for the way we go racing.”
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