McLaren strategy discussions after Budapest
After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Australian driver Oscar Piastri explained that McLaren had discussed the diversified strategies that led Lando Norris to victory and how to approach future races. The Woking-based team reiterated that both drivers would have freedom in decision-making in these situations, meaning they could choose how to react to mark their teammate.
The Hungarian race, the last before the summer break, highlighted how the championship battle will be decided by fine details, because even a small setback can paradoxically create an opportunity to turn a race around. What happened at the Hungaroring is a prime example: losing positions at the start created the conditions for Lando Norris to try something different.
Being behind rivals clearly opens the door to tactical diversification, as had been seen in a different context with Oscar Piastri in Imola. After falling behind Max Verstappen at the start, he was forced to adopt a less advantageous strategy in order to try to recover positions on the Dutch driver.
In Hungary, however, while it’s true that Norris contributed to transforming a one-stop strategy into a winning one, it’s also true that for Piastri it would have been difficult to cover a strategy that, at a certain point in the race, clearly offered a real chance for the British driver to reopen the battle and take the victory and 25 points that, a few laps earlier, seemed almost out of reach.
Internal team talks at McLaren
This was clearly a topic that had to be addressed within McLaren, because in a world championship fight where the Woking team has tried to remain as fair as possible, diversifying strategies also means potentially giving greater chances to one driver over the other.
The issue had already been touched upon by Lando Norris after the Japanese Grand Prix, when his decision not to take a risk – in order not to lose a position to Piastri – cost him his only chance to perform an undercut on Verstappen and win the race. At that time, it was already clear how precarious that fine balance could be, since someone always risks losing out in the process.
What happened in Hungary inevitably brought this issue back to the table as one of the main topics for the second half of the season, when the number of races to recover from a mistake or an unfavorable strategy becomes increasingly limited. Piastri himself confirmed that this had been discussed internally.
“Yes, we’ve talked about it since then. You know, I think there are race situations where, being the last car in the group, you have much less to lose. This aspect will always be there, and I think it would be unfair to ignore it just to be on the same strategy. There were discussions about what I could have done differently, and they were very productive discussions,” Piastri said.
Freedom to choose alternative strategies
The Australian explained that if circumstances arise like those seen a few weeks ago in Hungary – where one driver has the chance to win the Grand Prix with an alternative strategy – then there will be the opportunity to vary and not remain locked into the same tactic as a teammate simply for parity.
“So I think we will still have the freedom to choose alternative strategies if that’s what we want. But yes, there have certainly been discussions on how to handle this situation, because it’s obviously difficult to cover different strategies, especially when the championship is on the line.”
This is an understandable concept, though it will be interesting to see how this topic evolves as the two drivers approach the end of the championship, when an alternative strategy could carry more weight relative to the context, compared to what happened in Hungary, with still many races left to avoid panicking.
Reflection during the summer break
The break also provided an opportunity to reflect on what could be improved for the rest of the championship, as well as recognizing the progress made. While it’s true that a high-level car is always a valuable tool for growth, it’s undeniable that Piastri has taken a significant step forward this year in many areas, starting with qualifying and race tyre management.
Starting at the front in a two-driver fight can play a decisive role, even in strategy selection and race management. On multiple occasions this year, we’ve seen how a Grand Prix has been decided more by grid position than by pure race pace. “I think we’ve done a lot of things well this year, things we can control. There have been tough moments and hard lessons.”
“I’m very confident in the position I’m in. I feel I’ve performed well this year. And again, many of the things I can influence I think I’ve handled very well. So yes, there’s an alternate universe where many things would look very different, but none of that matters. I’m simply trying to focus on the next ten races and how I can maintain or even improve compared to the start of the year, and move forward.”
“I think I’ve improved a lot this season, and honestly, often the tracks that last year were the ones I struggled with the most, this season have been some of the ones I did best on,” Piastri added, referring for example to China or Japan, where last year he struggled, while this year he scored a win and a podium. “So I’m not worried, but of course the goal is always to have the best weekend possible.”
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