Idman.biz
McLaren boss Andrea Stella has commented on the tactics applied to Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the Qatar Grand Prix in Formula 1.
Idman.Biz reports that the team chose not to call the drivers into the pits when the safety car appeared on the track, a decision that resulted in Piastri losing the lead and Norris losing third place.
Stella explained the episode as follows:
"We chose not to pit. Frankly, we didn't expect all the teams to stop at the same time. As soon as everyone went into the pits, it turned out to be the right move. When you are the leader, you cannot think about what your opponents will do. If we had called Lando in too, there could have been losses during the double pit stop. But the main reason was that we really didn't expect everyone to stop. It was a conscious decision, it was just wrong."
He also noted that the team planned to create a gap by relying on the speed of the car:
"We thought the car's pace would allow us to create a gap. But there was no serious wear on the tires and we couldn't make the most of the speed. Of course, we didn't want such a result. We will re-analyze the decision in the safety car episode."
Thus, the McLaren team's risky strategy deprived both Piastri and Norris of a podium opportunity in Qatar.
