Andrea Stella shares how McLaren got Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s strategies so wrong in Qatar

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Despite locking out the front row of the grid, neither McLaren driver managed to win the Qatar Grand Prix.

In fact, it would be their biggest nightmare right now – Max Verstappen, who won the race, has just closed to within just 12 points of Lando Norris.

The most exciting finish to the drivers’ championship in 15 years is now set up for Abu Dhabi, and no one quite knows who will win. It’s that hard to bet against Red Bull.

McLaren lost their shot at the Qatar Grand Prix with poor strategy. An early safety car saw everyone but their two drivers change tyres, which put them on the back foot almost immediately.

Verstappen called McLaren’s decision ‘interesting’ and was a bit surprised to inherit an almost perfect situation.

Piastri thought McLaren’s strategy was wrong, and it left him in a tricky position for the rest of the race. He had to push in clean air, but knew that it was too much to recover from.

READ MORE: How ‘shellshocked’ Zak Brown and Andrea Stella instantly reacted after Qatar GP McLaren disaster

Andrea Stella admits McLaren strategy was wrong after move he ‘didn’t expect’ in Qatar

George Russell thinks Norris is ‘more chilled’ than ever now, and he’ll need to be now that the title race is going to a decider. It’ll be the biggest race of his career.

His team boss, Andrea Stella, admitted the strategy mistake immediately after the race in Qatar, citing that the Woking-based outfit were caught out.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he revealed how there was an expectation that at least some of their rivals would stay out, too. However, no one did.

“It was a decision,” he said. “It was a decision not to pit, and in fairness, we didn’t expect everyone else to pit. Obviously, when everyone else behind you pits, then it makes pitting definitely the right thing to do.

“Obviously, when you are the lead car, you don’t know exactly what the others are going to do. There could have been a loss for Lando in pitting, in case we were pitting both cars with the double stack.

“Effectively, the main reason was related to not expecting everyone else to pit. It was a decision, but as a matter of fact, it wasn’t the correct decision.”

READ MORE: Lando Norris sounded like a champion with his message to Oscar Piastri after Qatar Grand Prix qualifying

What Lando Norris needs to do to win the F1 title in Abu Dhabi

Now that the title permutations are clear with one race to go, Norris must finish at least third to guarantee his first title.

A podium would eliminate any doubt, but he’ll be targeting a win to make his life easier at what is one of McLaren’s strongest tracks.

Piastri must finish at least second to have any chance, and Verstappen realistically needs a podium too. Even then, both would need Norris to finish out of the points or not pick up many.

Qatar was the first time in a while that Norris has struggled a little, and momentum is now all over the place. It could be one of the greatest races in this era of regulations.