McLaren boss Andrea Stella admitted that its strategy error in the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix was “significantly penalising”, having effectively gifted the race to Max Verstappen.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were running first and third at the Losail International Circuit when a clash between Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly changed the course of the event.
With the race having a 25-lap maximum on tyre usage due to high degradation, there was little choice but for teams to have a uniformed tyre strategy.
But Hulkenberg and Gasly’s collision on Lap 8 brought out the Safety Car, to which Red Bull reacted by pitting Verstappen.
With the majority of the field following suit and double-stacking their cars, Norris questioned over the radio why McLaren chose to keep both cars out.
It ultimately cost Piastri victory, as Verstappen then pitted for Hards later in the race, which proved to be a shrewd move, as he was able to create enough of a gap that Piastri could not sufficiently close down, and duly took the victory.
With Norris struggling even more, labouring to fourth, the Brit’s title lead was cut to 12 points, with Piastri now third behind the Dutchman, the three now having to face a showdown in the final round in Abu Dhabi next week.
After the race, Stella admitted the decision had been the wrong one but theorised, at the time, that there was a risk of heavy traffic on track if both cars had pitted earlier.
“Yeah, I think in terms of the outcome of the decision, that’s a fair interpretation,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“Effectively, we have conceded one pitstop to a rival that was fast today. So, obviously, we did it for a reason.
“The reason was that we didn’t want to end up in traffic after the pitstop, but obviously, all the other cars and teams had a different opinion in relation to a Safety Car at Lap 7.
“Everyone pitted, and this made our staying out ultimately being incorrect from a race outcome point of view.
“And like I said, because Verstappen was fast and also because the tyre degradation was low, ultimately this decision was significantly penalising because clearly Oscar was in control of the race and deserved to win it, and we lost the podium as well with Lando.”
Stella highlights tighter competition is ‘exposing’ McLaren errors
Stella was asked whether the decision was also perhaps made on the premise that, had the cars been double-stacked, Norris may have lost even more time.
“Well, certainly for Lando, there was the extra consideration, as you say, of losing additional time because of the double-stack pitstop,” he replied.
“So, it was in the consideration, but it wasn’t the main reason not to stop both cars.
“We thought that traffic could have been a problem for both cars, and like I said before, in reality, that was not the right interpretation of the situation at the time that we should have had.”
Despite some of the more contentious moments during the season, it has been a largely faultless season from McLaren in terms of strategy and in general.
When it was put to him why more mistakes have crept in at this late and crucial phase of the season – including its double-disqualification in Las Vegas – Stella indicated that perhaps now the competition is tighter, the smallest of errors are magnified.
“I think in a season, you can have various phases,” he explained. “I think we have seen this with the drivers. We have seen this in terms of momentum of the various teams.
“In a way, even in terms of execution, you may have an accumulation of issues just in a given period, which makes it look like, ‘Oh, what’s happening now?’
“In reality, I think there are no specific reasons. The issue we had in Vegas is very, very different to the issue we have here, obviously.
“I don’t think there’s any specific reason. It’s just a reminder that in racing, you have to be in control of all the possible details.
“I think what’s happening is that the tighter the competition is, the more you are in the spotlight, the more issues are exposed.
“Rather than a reason why issues are happening in a moment in time, I think it’s the fact that the competition is very tight, the stake is very big, and we are exposed as a team.
“It doesn’t change what we have to do. We just have to make sure that we execute perfect weekends.”
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