McLaren makes another mistake: two ruined races and a title at risk
McLaren once again engaged in a strategic self-destruction. A poor decision by the reigning constructors' champions opened the door for Max Verstappen to take victory in Qatar, climb to second place in the drivers' championship, and arrive at the final race of the season with every chance of clinching the world title. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri lost a virtually assured victory, and Lando Norris missed out on a podium finish that would have been crucial to his title aspirations.
Photo: Oscar Piastri
On lap 7, an incident between Nico Hülkenberg and Pierre Gasly brought out the safety car. It was the perfect opportunity for all the drivers to make one of their two mandatory pit stops, saving themselves around 25 seconds under normal race conditions. And everyone did except McLaren (and Esteban Ocon).
Piastri and Norris were caught out by a senseless strategy: two full pit stops while Verstappen and the rest of the field only needed one. The blow was especially painful because Piastri had been the fastest all weekend and had the pace to win without pressure. Norris, for his part, needed a podium finish to move even closer to the title. Instead, both ended up paying the price for an inexplicable collective error.
What happened in Qatar is not an isolated incident: McLaren has now ruined two consecutive weekends for its own drivers. In Las Vegas, both drivers were disqualified due to a car setup error. And the list of mistakes throughout the season is even longer.
Lando Norris has lost 42 points due to team errors:
18 points for the DNF at Zandvoort
18 points for the disqualification in Las Vegas
6 points for the poor strategy in Qatar
Oscar Piastri has lost 22 points:
3 at Monza (although debatable)
12 for the disqualification in Las Vegas
7 for the poor strategy in Qatar
This does not include the points both drivers lost due to slow pit stops by the team.
Paradoxically, the team that won the constructors' championship just six races ago isn't performing like a championship-winning team. Absurd risks, incomprehensible decisions, and repeated mistakes have only benefited one rival: Max Verstappen.
After the race, Zak Brown and Andrea Stella apologized to their drivers.
“We made the worst decision. We feel terrible for Oscar and Lando. We let them down,” said Brown.
However, an apology doesn't recover the lost points or repair the damage to the championship. And the worst came later, when Stella tried to explain the decision:
“It was a decision not to pit. We didn't expect everyone to pit under the safety car.”
A worrying statement for any Formula 1 team, even more so considering that, at that very moment, Norris radioed that they should copy Verstappen's move. The team's response: that doing so would reduce their “strategic flexibility.” That “flexibility” cost them the race.
There were two logical solutions that McLaren ignored:
Pitting both drivers under the safety car. Norris would have lost a little more time, yes, but with the pace he had, he would have been back on the podium. And Piastri would have won the race comfortably.
Split their strategies. When Verstappen pitted, Norris, who was right behind him should have followed him. They would have covered from their direct rival and salvaged at least one of their results.
Neither of these options was perfect, but both were better than what they ultimately did. McLaren chose the worst possible path: one that doesn't prioritize either driver and ruins both of their races.
Qatar was a debacle. Just another one in a season where McLaren has proven to be its own worst enemy. The team that shone to win the constructors' championship now seems incapable of making sound decisions when it matters most.
In the end, it seems that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri aren't just fighting Max Verstappen. They're also fighting McLaren.
