McLaren was 'seven tenths away from losing the Constructors' title' in Abu Dhabi, Brown says

Lando Norris may have flown through the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, leading every lap from the start to the checkered flag, but his victory was certainly decided by a few tenths of a second… and the Constructors' title McLaren also. If he crossed the finish line with a 5″8 lead over his closest pursuer, Carlos Sainz, the race of the Briton and his team could well have changed during the pit stops during the Emirati round.

On lap 25, Carlos Sainz stopped first, attempting an undercut strategy on Lando Norris. The Spaniard had a cannon stop in 2″2. On the following lap, McLaren and Lando Norris responded to their rivals with a stop… also in 2″2! A stop four thousandths faster than that of the Team – and even the fastest of the entire race – which allowed the Englishman to take the lead again with a short but sufficient lead over the Madrilenian. According to Zak Brown, if this stop had been a few tenths longer, Lando Norris could have lost his first place and McLaren its Constructors' title!

"I wouldn't have wanted to be part of the team of mechanics who had to make a pit stop in two seconds. And they did it despite the pressure, he confided to the High Performance Podcast. Although the season is made up of 24 races, you could say that we were seven-tenths of a second away from losing the championship because Lando [Norris] came out 1,6 or 1,7 [seconds] ahead of Carlos [Sainz], and Carlos was fast. Even though I think Lando still had some energy, if [Sainz] had had DRS, I don't think we would have been able to defend. The Ferrari is very fast on the straights, and Lando would have ended up in dirty air…

McLaren resisted pressure

Indeed, if Carlos Sainz had won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, ahead of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, Ferrari would have scored enough points to get back to level from an accounting point of view in the Constructors' championship. However, the Scuderia would have had 5 victories, against 4 for McLaren, which would have given the title to the Italian team! The successful stop of Zak Brown's men was therefore essential for the quest for the Constructors' title, and the McLaren mechanics ensured the coup perfectly. “Imagine: Carlos comes in, he does a pit stop in 2,2 seconds, you know you have to do better. What pressure! They rose to the occasion, did the best pit stop of the race, and that’s what the team has done all year. It’s incredible.”, underlines the CEO of McLaren Racing.

According to Zak Brown, the key to success in this crucial pit stop by Lando Norris was the serenity of the McLaren clan, who did not change anything from their habits despite the stakes and the pressure at the time. "Things had to go on as usual, recognizes the American leader. It’s easy to say, and of course it’s not exactly true: everyone knows it’s not business as usual. But a lot of people have asked me what they’re going to do differently for this race or the last two. I think you have to keep doing what got you where you are. As soon as you start changing your game, you think: wait, we’ve had great pit stops all year, we even have the world record, we don’t need to tell them what’s on the line. I think they get it.” 

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