Not just Ferrari: McLaren also made mistakes with both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at Silverstone. A McLaren one-two at Silverstone was possible, but the team made strategic errors.

McLaren wasted a potential one-two finish at Silverstone by making a strategic mistake with Oscar Piastri. The Australian finished fourth at the line, behind his teammate Lando Norris. A semi-disaster, although not comparable to the strategic error made by Ferrari with Charles Leclerc.

The two McLaren drivers gained an advantage when the rain began to fall on the track; at that moment, they were able to overtake both Mercedes drivers, occupying the first and second positions.

When the rain intensified, McLaren had to decide: make a double pit stop or call in one of the two drivers. In the end, they opted for the latter, bringing Lando Norris in while Oscar Piastri continued on slick tires. This decision compromised the race for driver #81.

Despite managing to recover a position and finishing fourth, the Australian regretted that strategic incident. “I would say it was a joint decision. That was the hardest decision,” Oscar Piastri said in post-race interviews with the media.

“You have two cars, 1-2, separated by half a second, with rain falling, I don’t think it could be harder than that. I think there are clearly some things we need to review. The double pit stop would have been the best choice. We just need to see if we had the right information.” – he pointed out at the end of the British Grand Prix.

“The last two corners were very, very difficult,” Oscar Piastri continued. “I saw that Lando was about five seconds behind me when I pitted. So I knew I was in trouble at that moment. That’s when I immediately realized it was the wrong decision,” he concluded.

McLaren boss Andrea Stella admitted he realized the mistake only on the following lap.

McLaren could even have won the Silverstone race with Lando Norris, but in the final stint of the British Grand Prix, when the rain stopped and the track was dry, the team decided to go for softs, which was also suggested by the driver himself, despite having a new set of mediums, which would have given Lando Norris a great chance to overtake Lewis Hamilton and secure the race win, considering the impressive pace shown by his teammate in the final stages of the race on medium tires.

Source: f1ingenerale