Ben1980 wrote: ↑01 Sep 2024, 16:23
Oscar putting leclerc in front of Norris ruined that race for the team.
But, tge plan was for a 2 stop, and that's why Piastri was gunning all those fastest laps. The Mclaren wasn't great on its tyres.
Everyone had to go through a graining phase on the hards but most people pitted during the graining phase. Ferrari went through it and no longer had graining at the end which is why he wasn't caught.
Mcl_G10 wrote: ↑01 Sep 2024, 16:39
Pit wall should have told oscar to stay out and manage. I don't think Charles would have caught and passed oscar.
This is what makes me so mad. Piastri was about 5 seconds ahead of Leclerc and 15 or so ahead of Sainz. You are not under threat of undercut or being overtaken if you have one or two bad laps. You have a significant buffer against a car that is slower than you. Only car that was doing a 2 stop and was "threatening" Piastri if his tires go off later is Norris. Since Norris was already on a two stop, why put both cars on that strategy when there is a chance that it may end up being a one stop race?
If Piastri starts to lose pace and Leclerc starts to catch him by a second a lap, then sure, go ahead and pit him even though even then it might be smarted to keep him out to block/slow down Leclerc so Norris has a better chance of catching up.
I do understand that if one stop tires went off the cliff, they would have made the right call but in that case Norris gets the win (great result) and it is still likely that Piastri with his buffer will prevail against Ferraris.
Completely unacceptable strategy call, similar in how bad it was to Silverstone where they didn't double stack Piastri.
About the race, Piastri looked to be faster but maybe he was always expecting to two stop so used his tires more. Hard to tell. I am annoyed by the risky T2 overtake that could have ended their race and then gave the position to Leclerc who was then a constant thorn in McLaren side. Leclerc in P2 forced Norris to undercut him early, which led to Piastri defending against Leclerc undercut which led to this stupid two stop strategy. If you get Norris and Piastri 1-2 after the first lap and tell them to work together to build a gap against Leclerc, then you can open up racing if you want later.