McLaren crew principal Andrea Stella says Oscar Piastri passing Lando Norris on the primary lap of System 1’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was mentioned upfront as Piastri’s laborious tyres would assist pile stress on chief Max Verstappen.
Third-starting Piastri handed Norris for second with a clear swoop across the exterior of the medium-speed Tun 9 left-hander, demoting Norris to the bottom place he might afford to complete to seal the world championship.
The transfer match inside McLaren’s mantra of letting its drivers race as Piastri wanted a win to maintain his slim title hopes alive. However as he had began on the laborious tyres in comparison with the mediums for each Verstappen and Norris, there was additionally a strategic part to the place change.
Pirelli’s C3 compound was extra resilient however was barely slower than the C4 medium, which McLaren hoped would permit Piastri to place extra stress on chief Verstappen.
“Clearly, we wished to have completely clear racing on the primary lap,” Stella defined. “However we additionally mentioned – with Oscar on a tough tyre – not making life troublesome for Oscar to take the second place after which try to assault Verstappen – it was a strategic choice that Lando was supporting.
“It was and honest overtake by Oscar, however in itself this can be a state of affairs that we mentioned, so it wasn’t the toughest of the battles, as a result of there was a normal curiosity.”
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren, Zak Brown, McLaren
Picture by: Andy Hone/ LAT Photographs through Getty Photographs
He added: “Everybody was clear that the laborious would have been tyre. And if there’s any individual on a tough chasing any individual on a medium, the one on the medium must push and at some stage may need to pit.”
However Piastri’s problem quickly stalled, and Verstappen managed his tyres to perfection to safeguard a small however comfy margin, additional underlining that Crimson Bull was fast sufficient to deal with something both Piastri or Norris might throw on the Dutchman.
“We had been, if something, a bit shocked that Max might go so lengthy and so quick on the medium tyres,” Stella admitted.
Piastri prolonged his first stint all the best way to lap 41, by which period Norris had simply made his second pitstop and Verstappen had been on his set of laborious tyres for 18 laps. However whereas Piastri initially gained to the tune of a second per lap on chief Verstappen, the hole then stabilised and Verstappen took his eighth win of the season by 12 seconds on Piastri, with a jubilant Norris one other 4 seconds in arrears as he celebrated his maiden world title.
“The Crimson Bull proved to be the quickest automobile as soon as once more,” Stella noticed. “I feel they’ve clearly finished an excellent job of overcoming some difficulties. In the midst of the season, they gave us an infinite problem to beat them on observe.
“Typically we did not handle to take action, but it surely’s vital that we managed to do it within the championship with Lando. I am not even shocked that they’re ending the season with most likely the most effective automobile.”
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