The Miami GP has exposed McLaren’s strategic shortcomings, after Lando Norris lost the victory at a crucial moment in the race. The British team was outdone by Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes, who executed a decisive undercut maneuver.
Norris, who was leading the race, was forced to pit a lap later than Antonelli. This decision resulted in a change of leadership that frustrated the pilot’s victory expectations. “They simply pulled off the undercut on us,” the young driver admitted after the race, lamenting not having engaged in the pit entry maneuver earlier.
Will Buxton, former presenter of F1 TV, criticized this strategic handling by McLaren during the _Up To Speed_ podcast program. He pointed out that the team’s strategic mistakes have been repeated for too long, and that while the addition of Will Courtenay from Red Bull could bring improvements, key decisions have failed at decisive moments.
Expectations for McLaren are high, and their competitiveness on the grid remains essential to challenge the stronger teams. As Norris commented, it’s frustrating to know they had the car to win, but strategic decisions did not work in their favor.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI