McLaren boss Andrea Stella has explained that the decision to split strategies in Formula 1‘s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was made to counter Red Bull’s pace advantage.
Like pole-man Max Verstappen, Lando Norris lined up on the Medium compound. However, team-mate Oscar Piastri, who headed the second row, started on Hards.
Piastri overtook Norris on the opening lap with a pass that Stella admitted had been discussed in advance, despite the Briton entering the race with the points lead.
With the recognition that Red Bull had the quicker package on raw pace, Stella highlighted that McLaren hoped Piastri could push Verstappen into an earlier pitstop.
“Once we saw the result of qualifying, we started to think about what the start tyre would have meant in terms of strategic options,” Stella told media Motorsport Week.
“Everyone entered the race today not clear whether it was a one or a two-stop, but I think everyone was clear that the Hard would have been a good tyre.
“If there’s somebody on a Hard chasing somebody on a Medium, the one on the Medium needs to push and at some stage might have to pit.”
A strategy hopeful of preventing Verstappen’s control
Stella stressed that the call was a collective one that involved both drivers along with senior team members, though it was not settled on until hours prior to the race.
“It’s always a kind of a collective decision, because drivers bring their point of view, the strategy team bring their point of view, the race engineers, I as a team principal.
“Zak [Brown] actually said he was happy that we respected the tyres, so final sign off. So it’s a collective decision that is made through several conversations.
“You sometimes have a hypothesis on Saturday, you go, you sleep on it, in the morning somebody comes and we consider this,” he said.
“The decision was made a couple of hours before the race.”
But while Verstappen still managed to cruise to an eventual race win, McLaren succeeded in ensuring that the Dutchman didn’t have the chance to back the pack up.
“We were, if anything, a bit surprised that Max could go so long and so fast on the medium tyres,” Stella concluded.
READ MORE – McLaren discussed Oscar Piastri’s first-lap pass on Lando Norris prior to F1 Abu Dhabi GP
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