Max going to pit is hard to counter as he was about 10 seconds behind our guys. He will always have opportunity to be called in AFTER McLaren drivers pass the pit entry. This call I can understand. It's hard to judge exactly when you need to go in. Mercedes was in the same spot and Verstappen really nailed the timing.wickedz50 wrote: ↑07 Jul 2024, 17:52I agree that even after Max was given the call to box for the inters atleast one driver should have come in same lap, that’s where Max was allowed to come into the podium position. If you have to still win the constructor you still need some big double podium. Piastri saved the day by coming in 4th, that car in Piastri’s hand was fast and deserved a better position. Still this is the team experiencing winning opportunities which is new and they need to be impeccable in execution because that’s what Merc and RBR team is showing. A one car RBR can still win the WCC if Max keeps getting the wins, which will be quite embarrassing.
I completely agree. I think this is still the team that was happy to gain points for P4, P3 or settle for P2. I don't think they did it intentionally here but covering Hamilton is exactly that, defensive decision as if you both are wrong, you are still in the same spot. Verstappen was likely not a factor in their decision making as he was 7 seconds behind Hamilton but given that Lando lost a lot of time in that extra lap, he became a factor.DiogoBrand wrote: ↑07 Jul 2024, 17:55To me the main issue ATM is that McLaren is picking its strategy to avoid losing, rather than trying to win. That's why on both windows they waited for everyone else to stop, and why Norris used Softs instead of Mediums on the last stint.
When they realize the car they have and race to win, rather than to not lose, I think they can maximize the results.
I am extremely puzzled by McLaren mentioning they have mediums available against other cars and then decide to put Norris on soft. That screamed to be a wrong decision. The same can be said about not pitting Piastri, on this huge long lap in Silverstone you decide to keep Piastri for one more lap while you can see on the timing screen that Verstappen is much faster. How that happens I can't really understand.
I am also very annoyed by how much the team (or at least Will Joseph) lays on Lando to decide in the heat of the moment. Maybe Lando wants it that way but it is definitely a mistake. The strategy team needs to be more assertive and then allow Lando to overrule if he thinks it is a mistake. Lando needs to learn to trust them more.
For the future, the team needs to make better and more assertive calls to the team. The way they go about business is leaving too much for drivers to decide and it leads to these type of mistakes.