McLaren leaves Suzuka with mixed feelings. Although the team is pleased with two podium finishes, they had to watch during the race on the Japanese circuit as their biggest competitor, Max Verstappen, took the victory. The team is certain that the Dutchman was simply unbeatable in Japan, even if they had let the faster Oscar Piastri overtake Lando Norris in the final stages.
McLaren’s strategic decisions during the Japanese Grand Prix caused much surprise. The team chose to call Piastri in for a pit stop first, preventing Norris from undercutting race leader Verstappen. Subsequently, the two McLarens did get close to the world champion, with Piastri reporting over the radio that he was faster than his teammate.
“It was a fair comment from Oscar,” team boss Andrea Stella admits after the race. However, McLaren did not want to let the Australian pass the Brit. “In reality, Lando was trying to get closer to Max, then give his tires some air, and then try again. But when you get about a second behind your predecessor, it becomes difficult,” Stella refers to the dirty air in which Norris drove for a long time.
Was a driver swap pointless?
According to the team boss, a driver swap between Norris and Piastri would not have made a difference. “To overtake, you needed a speed surplus of seven to eight tenths per lap. That was not achievable for either Lando or Oscar. We therefore kept the situation simple and we will try again in Bahrain. Our car is fast and perhaps we should have taken more advantage of that in qualifying. If we had started at the front, we probably would have won.”
