McLaren’s explanation for the pit stop decision that dropped Oscar Piastri behind teammate Lando Norris early in the Hungarian Grand Prix hasn’t proved entirely convincing that the strategy was a neutral call.
Piastri missed his second shot at a maiden podium chance in Budapest after a strategy call early in the race dropped him from second to third.
Piastri had been running behind eventual runaway winner Max Verstappen in the first stint thanks to a superb start that sliced him underneath both Lewis Hamilton and teammate Lando Norris at the first corner.
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Hamilton ended up fourth after the start-line scramble, but his Mercedes car was equal in performance with the McLarens ahead.
The Briton was the first to pit, on lap 16, forcing McLaren to respond to the undercut threat.
But rather than pit the lead driver, as is usual when teammates are running consecutively, Norris go the call first on lap 17.
He successfully covered the Mercedes, but the benefit of fresh tyres also undercut him past his teammate when Piastri pitted on lap 18.
Norris held second place through to the end of the race, but a resurgent Sergio Pérez and late-charging Hamilton demoted Piastri to fifth at the flag.
The order of pit stops was a major topic of debate after the race.
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According to Fox Sports podcast Pit Talk co-host Mat Coch, McLaren explained that it had prioritised keeping both cars ahead of the Mercedes rather than attempting to preserve the on-track order of its drivers at the risk of losing a place to Hamilton.
“Neither Lando nor Oscar is in drivers championship contention,” Coch said. “Where they finish is largely irrelevant. The bigger picture for McLaren is McLaren.
“(Team principal Andrea) Stella justified it in that you pit your most at-risk car. In that instance, Lando was most at risk from Lewis, so they pitted him and just covered off that threat.
“Whether they’d finished second and third or third and fourth with Lando ahead of Oscar, Oscar ahead of Lando, they don’t care to that degree as long as they get third and fourth, as long as they maximise the potential.
“Making those decisions, they’re tough and they’re unpalatable — particularly for us in Australia, because Oscar arguably lost out — but they’re looking at the greater good.
“It was that simple. There was nothing more untoward. There wasn’t any favouritism towards Lando.”
Was Piastri undercut by his own team? | 00:50
But McLaren’s explanation wasn’t completely convincing.
“I’m really not too sure about that,” co-host Ian Parkes replied. “I don’t think it would have made any difference whether they’d pitted Oscar first ahead of Lando. They would still have been covering themselves against Lewis.
“If you want a McLaren driver ahead of Lewis Hamilton, then what difference does it make if it’s Lando or Oscar? What difference does it make if they pitted Oscar first?”
Parkes said McLaren had tried to guarantee Norris another podium to keep him sweet at the team amid rumours the talented Briton was the target of poaching attempts from rival constructors.
“I think that’s a bit of an excuse by Andrea,” he said. “I think they’re looking after number one in their eyes, and that’s Lando Norris at this point.
“Oscar’s still in his rookie season. Lando, this is his fourth season now with the team, so naturally he is the lead driver in their eyes, so as far as they are concerned, he gets priority.
“I’m pretty confident that’s the way they looked at it yesterday.
“I don’t think it would have made any difference. If you want someone ahead of Lewis, what difference does it make which McLaren it is?”
Piastri jumps Lewis & Norris on 1st lap! | 00:52
The argument was moot by the end of the race, however, after Piastri faded from podium contention thanks to floor damage that made it more difficult for him to manage tyre wear in the two-stop race.
The Aussie held third until the final stint, when he was no match for Hamilton on much fresher tyres, the Briton having run a long middle stint to give himself a shorter blast on faster rubber at the end of the race.
Sergio Pérez also barged past on a recovery drive from ninth to third. The Mexican came close to getting past Norris for second place on his alternative hard-medium-medium strategy, but he said the extreme quantity of tyre marbles off the racing line cost him time when it came to passing backmarkers, granting the McLaren a reprieve.
Norris gained 4.026 on Piastri through the first pit-stop sequence, most of which came via his sizzling out-lap.
He finished ahead of Pérez by 3.872 seconds.