Championship frontrunner Lando Norris has strongly criticized the McLaren squad for a strategic blunder during the Qatar Grand Prix, a misstep that allowed Max Verstappen to surge back into contention and has now set up a three-way fight for the title in the Abu Dhabi decider next Sunday.
Verstappen emerged victorious in the Doha race following McLaren’s decision not to bring their drivers in for a pit stop during an early safety car period. This proved to be a costly oversight, handing the lead and the eventual win to Verstappen. Norris could only secure fourth place, while his teammate Oscar Piastri, who shared the disappointment with the team, finished second.
Max Verstappen triumphs over Piastri, pushing the F1 title battle right to the Abu Dhabi GP as Norris stumbles.
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Norris entered the weekend holding a 24-point advantage over both Piastri and Verstappen, but he now leads Verstappen by a slim margin of just 12 points, with Piastri trailing by 16. “Clearly, it wasn’t our finest day, nor our best weekend,” stated Norris, who felt McLaren ought to have pitted both himself and Piastri when Verstappen and the rest of the field elected to do so. “Both of us should have pitted. Regardless of what happened, I would have been boxed in either way, as we would have executed a double-stack, which might have cost me some time. A little bit of time. I doubt I would have fallen out of position, though.”
Piastri, displaying impressive speed as he chased down Verstappen, was questioned about his level of annoyance with the team. “It’s quite high, and considering the recent run of races I’ve had, that’s saying something,” he remarked. “We obviously got things wrong today, which is frustrating because the entire weekend had been going exceedingly well. We had significant pace. I felt I drove strongly. So yes, it stings quite a bit.”
Oscar Piastri
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The Australian driver sits third in the standings heading into the final race. Photograph: Eric Alonso/DPPI/Shutterstock
Nevertheless, Norris and the Australian acknowledged that the team would analyze the call and address it before the season finale in Abu Dhabi. “I put myself in this situation. I’m still pleased,” Norris commented. “It wasn’t our highlight day, nor my sharpest weekend in terms of driving and putting everything together. But that’s how it goes. Everyone experiences off-weekends. I’ll accept it, we’ll all take it on the chin, and we’ll see what we can muster next weekend.”
Piastri added, “I believe we made the wrong call today. That’s evident. It’s not the end of the world. It hurts right now, naturally, but given time, things will improve.”
McLaren faced scrutiny following a double disqualification in the previous round in Las Vegas, and Team Principal Andrea Stella conceded improvements were necessary. “The drivers are performing exceptionally well,” he stated. “However, over the last couple of races, from a team perspective, we have failed to capitalize on the drivers’ excellent work and the car’s inherent potential. As a team, we must recognize that our drivers have every justification for their disappointment.”
Lando Norris
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Lando Norris needs a top-three finish in Abu Dhabi to secure the world championship. Photograph: James Gasperotti/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
Questions have been raised about McLaren’s consistent approach of letting their drivers race each other all season rather than prioritizing one to clinch the title, but Stella confirmed they would maintain this strategy and would not resort to team orders for the championship decider.
“We will stand by our racing philosophy, but what I can certainly confirm is that should either driver be in a position to pursue the championship win, we will honor that,” he said. “There will be no instruction issued that excludes another driver when that driver still has a chance to win.
“Whatever decision we make regarding the collaboration between our drivers, it must adhere to some of our core principles that underpin our whole approach. We aim to be equitable toward our drivers, to compete with integrity, and to race in a manner that offers no surprises to them. We will have further discussions with Lando and Oscar between now and Abu Dhabi.”
Verstappen, who at one point trailed Piastri—the then-leader—by a massive 104 points after the Dutch Grand Prix on August 31st and seemed out of the running, expressed immense satisfaction at still being involved in the title fight at the very end. “We had a genuinely difficult first half of the season, as everyone knows, but to still be in this contest, I feel we can be incredibly proud,” he remarked, “because in the middle of the season, at one juncture, it was almost beyond just lacking motivation; you simply couldn’t see a path to winning again that year.”
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