In the latest race, McLaren found a glimmer of hope through their pit stops. Lando Norris trailed Max Verstappen by just about 1.5 seconds, putting him in a position to potentially execute the ‘undercut’. This tactic involves stopping first to gain an edge with fresh tires, ideally getting ahead before your competitor leaves the pits.
Unfortunately for McLaren, things didn’t quite pan out as hoped. They orchestrated a decoy pit stop for Norris on lap 18 with a fake radio call, but Red Bull didn’t fall for it. Then, as George Russell from Mercedes pitted on lap 19 and started gaining ground with his new tires, McLaren was forced to pit Oscar Piastri on lap 20 to make sure he stayed ahead. Despite the McLaren having superior speed compared to the Mercedes, passing on this particular track was tough, and they didn’t want to gamble on Piastri overtaking Russell out on the course.
This sequence of events tipped off Red Bull, who then anticipated that Norris would be next to pit. They promptly brought Verstappen in to the pits. Leaving Norris out on worn tires wasn’t a viable option, as he would lose precious time. So, he headed into the pits as well.
Norris’ pit stop was a fraction faster—about a second quicker—than Verstappen’s, giving him a fleeting opportunity. As they exited the pits, Norris was nearly parallel with the Red Bull, but Verstappen held his line, as he had every right to do.
The crux of the issue was that the track narrowed, forcing Norris onto the grass, where he had no choice but to ease off. This allowed Verstappen to maintain his lead.
Reflecting on the race, Norris mused, “Perhaps we could’ve played with the strategy more. Was there an earlier window for us? Sure. But then there’s the risk factor of safety cars. Pit three laps before one appears, and you end up looking foolish.”
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s racing director, admitted it was “unclear” if the undercut could have succeeded, noting that they would scrutinize the data. However, he wasn’t ready to claim this race was one that slipped through their fingers, unlike their strategic missteps in Canada and Silverstone last year.
Though the McLaren had the raw speed advantage, the specifics of the Suzuka track worked against them once Verstappen secured pole position.
The car’s typical advantage, low tire wear, could have been a game-changer due to Suzuka’s usually harsh tire conditions. Yet, the first sector of the track had been resurfaced, resulting in lower degradation and nullifying one of McLaren’s theoretical benefits.
Stella summed it up by saying, “Once someone like Max nails the qualifying laps, as he did, it becomes quite the challenge to find a way out of that competitive bind.”
