McLaren’s Monza strategy: why only the Woking team chose Soft
McLaren did not secure a victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The weekend highlighted some minor limitations of the British team’s car, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the two MCL39s did not enjoy the usual advantage on tyres. The degradation was considerably lower than expected, which allowed Red Bull and Max Verstappen to take the win. But one question remains: why did McLaren opt for the Soft tyre while others did not?
Monza GP: the correct position swap between teammates at the finish
Before answering that question, a brief recap of what the drivers said. Lando Norris admitted that, simply put, the team did not have the pace to fight at the front. This was one of the few weekends where the car lacked the speed to challenge the competition. Nevertheless, it did not dampen the spirits of the Woking drivers, who have long secured both championship titles in a sense.
For Lando, it was still a solid race. The Englishman gave everything he could, especially during the early battle with the four-time world champion. It was an epic duel, but this time the Dutchman came out on top and deserved the victory. There was little else he could have done: second place was the realistic target.
Oscar Piastri was less satisfied, calling his Sunday “complicated.” There were many lessons to be learned in the first part of the race, and even toward the end, according to the 24-year-old Australian. Monza is a unique circuit, and McLaren must improve in several areas for next year. The same applies to other low-downforce tracks.
Oscar was not at his best, but Norris’ pit stop problem could have allowed him to gain second place. He speaks about it openly, and aside from internal team protocols, he considered the call to swap positions fair. The decision was assessed positively. Their focus now turns immediately to Baku, another circuit that may not be entirely ideal, though significantly less extreme than Monza.
Why was McLaren the only team to choose the Soft tyre?
The fight for the win was between the McLarens and Verstappen’s Red Bull. Red Bull opted for Hard tyres for the second stint, stopping on lap 38. Everyone assumed the Soft would not work. McLaren, on the other hand, extended the first long run on Mediums, hoping for some on-track event, such as a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car.
The idea was to execute the only pit stop losing less time than Verstappen. Oscar Piastri, in third, was the first to stop, even though he theoretically should not have gained an advantage from going first. McLaren then tried the Soft tyre, knowing there were only nine laps remaining. With a race neutralisation, they would have had extra grip to attack Max on the restart.
The Dutchman had the harder tyre, which would have made it more difficult to restart quickly after a potential Safety Car. The McLaren pit stops were a bit messy. Oscar Piastri came in first to protect himself from Charles Leclerc, even though this was not strictly necessary given Ferrari’s slower pace. The following lap, Lando Norris was called in, but his stop was slow.
As a result, Lando Norris rejoined behind Oscar Piastri, who very correctly agreed to give the position back. Max Verstappen would never have done this, as he himself has stated. Overall, McLaren’s strategy worked well to maintain harmony between the two drivers. It should be noted that even on the Soft tyres, the two MCL39s were generally slower than Max. Yesterday, the Dutchman was simply untouchable…
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