McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has stood by the tactical decisions his outfit made during the Hungarian Grand Prix, despite Oscar Piastri’s initial criticism after he fell behind teammate Lando Norris. Piastri launched the race from third on the grid, quickly passing Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and pole‑sitter Lando Norris in the opening corners to seize the lead by the end of lap one. McLaren initially treated the Australian as the team’s primary contender on track, giving him priority in their pit‑stop plan. However, the arrival of Lewis Hamilton from Ferrari during the second round of stops forced the team to adapt.
When Hamilton entered the pits, McLaren called Piastri in to preserve his track position ahead of the Briton. The stop, however, cost Piastri his advantage over Norris because Lando’s pace on fresh tyres was stronger, and an untimely incident with backmarker Carlos Sainz of Williams further compromised the Australian’s race. The contact with Sainz resulted in a penalty for the Spaniard and left Piastri visibly frustrated, prompting an angry radio message.
Later, after Norris emerged ahead following his own stop, Piastri directed another sharp remark toward the team. Stella explained the reasoning behind the split‑second choices. “If you look at the race telemetry, you’ll see that when Hamilton pitted he was in a position to undercut both McLarens, so we had to respond,” he told reporters.
“Our goal was to keep a McLaren in a position to challenge Hamilton for the win. At that moment Oscar was leading, so we elected to stop him. Lando’s stop then opened a different strategic window.” He continued, “We weren’t favouring one driver over the other for personal reasons. The decision was driven by the need to prevent Ferrari from taking the race lead.
Lando on used tyres was not significantly slower than the fresh‑tyre cars, and that allowed him to capitalize later and claim victory. It was a win earned on pace, not on a team‑engineered swap.” Piastri’s race ended prematurely when a gearbox failure struck while he was running in second place. In the aftermath, the Australian driver softened his earlier outburst, acknowledging that the timing of McLaren’s stops was reasonable.
He admitted that his request to delay Norris’s stop after the Sainz collision was “not very reasonable.” Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Piastri said, “I was hit by Carlos and, in the heat of the moment, I hoped the team might hold Lando back so I could stay ahead, but that wasn’t realistic. I was just upset about the incident.
The pit‑stop timing was fine – we needed to beat Lewis, and that’s what we were aiming for.” Before the gearbox failure, Norris had been pressuring the pit wall, repeatedly telling engineers he felt faster than his teammate and urging them to let him pit first. Stella defended the team’s refusal to accommodate Norris’s request, emphasizing the broader strategic picture.
"At the pit wall we constantly evaluate every option from every angle," Stella said. "We consider how to maximise points for the team while staying true to our racing philosophy. Oscar earned the lead fairly in the first two corners, so he deserved the chance to fight for the win. In other circuits Lando might have overtaken Oscar, but here a substantial pace gap would be required.
We were happy to give Oscar that shot while also protecting our overall race approach. It’s always marginal, with many variables, but today we executed the plan well from a principles standpoint.
I’m grateful to both Oscar and Lando – without two drivers who trust and support our strategy, none of this would be possible." Even after withdrawing his criticism of McLaren, Piastri remained angry with Sainz for the collision. He later told reporters, "I saw the blue‑flag signals, but I was right behind him in that sector and still got hit. Being taken out by a lapped car is something you never expect in a race, and it happened to me today. Whether he saw me or not, the lack of awareness is unacceptable." Sainz, for his part, defended his actions, pointing to ambiguous blue‑flag signals and the fact that he was battling Fernando Alonso for position as mitigating factors.
He also suggested that Piastri could have exercised more caution given the high stakes of a potential race win. Piastri responded curtly to Sainz’s comments, saying, "He’s quick to criticize others, and he’s faced his own share of on‑track frustration. When you cause an incident like that, maybe you should look in the mirror first." The Formula 1 calendar will resume after the summer hiatus with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort from 21‑23 August, all sessions broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Viewers can stream Sky Sports via NOW with no long‑term contract and cancel at any time.