McLaren made a significant blunder during the recent Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The reigning champions made a strategic error by not calling both drivers in during a safety car. While the entire field opted for a ‘free’ pit stop, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri stayed on the track. Due to Pirelli’s special tyre rules, they had to come in twice more, and the victory went to title rival Max Verstappen. CEO Zak Brown finds solace in the viewing figures.
“We got it wrong,” Zak Brown admitted to Viaplay. “Our assessment was clearly incorrect. That was the key round for the rest of the race,” he referred to the moment the safety car came out. “I feel terrible for Oscar (Piastri) and Lando (Norris). Oscar had been driving brilliantly all weekend and was closing the gap to Verstappen, but we clearly put him at too much of a disadvantage by not bringing him in. Lando also drove wonderfully.”
‘We let our drivers down’
“It’s obviously incredibly frustrating,” he continued, defeated. “At the end of the day, we gave away a victory and a double podium at a crucial moment in the championship. We will discuss this extensively during the debriefing and try to simply win the next race in Abu Dhabi.”
Interviewer David Coulthard tried to cheer Zak Brown up a bit. “Both drivers are still in contention for the title,” the Scot explained. “This is of course a gift for the Formula 1 fan,” he joked. “Yes, it’s probably good for the viewing figures,” Brown grinned cautiously. “That was not exactly our master plan, but we’ll see what Abu Dhabi brings. We won there last year, so we will undoubtedly be strong. For now, I just want to embrace our drivers, because we really let them down here.”
