Key Highlights:
- McLaren endured another difficult race outing at Sepang, finishing with Oscar Piastri in P6 and Lando Norris in P9 following a major pre-race tyre strategy misjudgment.
- Both drivers initially started on medium slick tyres on a damp track; Piastri pitted on the second formation lap for intermediates, while Norris stayed out and hemorrhaged lap time.
- Team Principal Andrea Stella conceded that rivals may have developed larger upgrade steps in recent weeks as the team aims to rebound at the upcoming race in Singapore.
Tyre Strategy Miscalculation Plagues McLaren at Sepang
Just eight days after failing to collect a single point at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, McLaren faced another challenging afternoon at the Sepang International Circuit. While a double-points result of sixth place for Oscar Piastri and ninth for Lando Norris prevented a total shutout, the performance fell well short of expectations for a squad that was contending for victories only weeks prior.
The turning point occurred before the lights even went out. Confronted with a damp track and unstable conditions, the McLaren pit wall opted to start both cars on dry medium-compound tyres. The choice was influenced by the circuit’s historically rough, high-grip tarmac, which generally facilitates rapid track drying and builds thermal energy quickly.
“At the pit wall, in terms of making calls and strategy on tyres, the most difficult moment was certainly at the start,” Team Principal Andrea Stella noted. “Where it wasn’t clear [was] whether the track was requiring intermediate tyres, or it would work for the dry tyres.
“On this kind of tarmac already what we saw on the laps to the grid is that the intermediate tyres were getting damaged very rapidly, and also on this kind of tarmac, the dry tyres work very, very easily – much more easily than pretty much every other circuit. So it looked, from what we could observe, that the track was dry enough to stay on track with the dry tyres, and we thought that the dry tyres would have switched on pretty rapidly. But as a matter of fact, it took more laps than we thought.
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“So with Lando we lost race time, and with Oscar as well, we lost race time because we needed to pit and accept that the track was only right for intermediate tyres. This was the most complicated moment.”
Diverging Paths: Piastri’s Formation Lap Switch vs. Norris’s Opening Deficit
Recognizing the immediate lack of grip, Oscar Piastri took decisive action by peeling into the pit lane at the end of the second formation lap to fit intermediate tyres. Although the late switch sacrificed his original grid slot, it immediately paid dividends. With those remaining on slick tyres struggling for traction, Piastri carved his way back up to tenth position by the conclusion of the very first flying lap.
Lando Norris remained on slick rubber and fell down the order to 15th, losing massive increments of lap time to the field running on intermediate tyres. Andrea Stella clarified that leaving Norris out while Piastri pitted was not a premeditated decision to split strategies between the two drivers.
“No, it wasn’t as simple as splitting,” said Stella. “It was more the uncertainty as to how much it would take for the dry tyres to start to work, and as a matter of fact, it took longer than what we thought it would take.
“So ultimately, it was an incorrect judgment as to the crossover at which the dry tyres would be faster than the intermediate tyres. But there was not a logic as simple as saying, ‘Let’s split, and let’s see what which one is right.’ We thought that the dry tyres would switch on faster.”
Explaining driver input during the critical juncture, Stella remarked: “I think for Oscar it was sort of Oscar himself thinking like it’s not going to be rapid, and I think with Lando, it’s possible that we biased Lando in the wrong direction.
“I think he was probably more in the direction that he should have pitted for inters, but as we discussed, we kind of attempted to see whether we could stay out on the medium tyres.”
Recovery Drive and Safety Car Chaos
As the Grand Prix progressed, both drivers recovered ground to sit seventh and eighth by the time the final Safety Car was deployed. A late retirement for Mercedes driver George Russell promoted Piastri to sixth. However, the bunched-up Safety Car queue caught Norris off-guard, dropping the British driver to eleventh before he regained two places in the closing laps to salvage ninth.
Why This Matters
The Sepang result highlights a sudden shift in Formula 1’s competitive order. McLaren entered recent events in commanding form, challenging for wins across venues such as the Hungaroring, Zandvoort, and Madrid. Now, the Woking-based outfit faces mounting pressure as rivals make tangible developmental strides.
“We see a scenario in F1 which seems to be changing pretty rapidly,” said Stella. “In Hungary, we took some upgrades, and we were in condition to have pole position in Hungary, Zandvoort, and then we were in condition to do pole position and pretty much victory in Madrid without the Virtual Safety Car.
“And then very rapidly and interestingly, as we took upgrades as well, the picture changes. I think we have to take a look at our own development.
“We don’t see any anomaly in our data, but we have to acknowledge that potentially some competitors have developed their car with bigger steps that we did.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming round in Singapore, Stella remains measured about McLaren’s potential baseline:
“It’s a very special condition here in Malaysia,” he said. “So I think we’ll have to understand better the behaviour of the cars, and also here Ferrari were very, very strong.
“I think you see that [Lewis] Hamilton was out there with Lando, and from that position he managed to recover several positions, overtaking cars through the race, meaning that it was definitely one of the best cars out there.
“I think we need to give ourselves some more time. I’m personally not in condition to say if Singapore will be now more suitable or not, because from a track layout point of view, we thought that here would be a decent circuit for us, and this because of the uncertainty caused by the new scenario from a competitiveness point of view, but also because we might have to understand a bit better the upgrades that we took ourselves. And Singapore will give us a better answer.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did McLaren start on medium slicks in damp conditions?
The team relied on historical data indicating that Sepang’s abrasive surface generates heat quickly and dries faster than most circuits. Furthermore, intermediate tyres were degrading rapidly during the reconnaissance laps to the grid, leading McLaren to anticipate an earlier crossover point to dry tyres that failed to materialize.
Did McLaren intentionally split tyre strategies between their drivers?
No. Andrea Stella confirmed the strategy split was not planned. Oscar Piastri independently decided to dive into the pit lane for intermediate tyres at the conclusion of the second formation lap, whereas the team guided Lando Norris toward attempting to stay out on mediums.
Where does McLaren race next?
McLaren heads directly to the Singapore Grand Prix, where the team plans to evaluate its recent upgrade packages under the lights to determine whether Sepang’s struggles were circuit-specific or indicative of a larger development deficit.
