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Lando Norris’ team couldn’t help but vent their frustrations after a pitstop error cost him the win at the Qatar GP.
The latter stages of the 2025 F1 season were quite dramatic. Despite holding a strong lead for most of the year, Lando Norris looked like he would miss out on the 2025 drivers’ championship.
Max Verstappen made a brilliant comeback in the second half of the season, closing the gap with Norris to the point where the championship was decided in the final race of the campaign.
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After the penultimate race in Qatar, many fans felt Verstappen was just one win away from completing one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent history.
And it was a mistake from McLaren to not pit their cars during a safety car in Lap 7 that ultimately cost both Oscar Piastri and, to a lesser extent, Norris, the win.
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DTS cameras captured frustration in Lando Norris camp during Qatar GP
Drive To Survive’s cameras were present in the McLaren operation hub as the team’s strategy cost Oscar Piastri the win in Qatar, but crucially, allowed Max Verstappen to get an all-important win.
While Lando gave a sarcastic response to the team, his manager, Mark Berryman and performance coach, Jon Malvern, were livid that McLaren basically handed Verstappen the win on a silver platter.
Lando Norris: “Yeah, really well done with that call.”
Mark Berryman: “They’re better than us, yeah, they threw the f—— win away. Gave him the win.”
Jon Malvern: “It’s f—— embarrassing. They just gave everything away.”
It was not the finest moment for McLaren in Qatar, as their poor strategy made things very tense for Lando Norris ahead of the final race in Abu Dhabi.
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FILL IN THE BLANK: Oscar Piastri needs to work on ______ in order to win the 2026 Drivers’ Championship 🏆
Martin Brundle is backing Oscar Piastri to come back better than ever after missing out on the 2025 championship…
McLaren hoping to avoid similar drama in 2026 season
While things ended well for McLaren in Abu Dhabi, it would behove them to not let things get out of hand to the point that they did last season.
Coming into the 2026 season, McLaren know they can’t have two world champions, and will have to eventually back either Norris or Piastri to win it all.
Piastri’s communication with McLaren has improved over the last two years, so hopefully, a mistake like the one they made in Qatar can be avoided.
For now, McLaren will be focused on getting off to a strong start in Australia next weekend, as they look to defend their crown.
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