How McLaren limited Max Verstappen's strategic choices in Abu Dhabi

The wait is over. At the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, McLaren saw one of its two pilots – Lando Norris in this case – to win the world champion crown Formula 1. A success that rewards a spectacular season for the British team, which brings the Drivers' and Constructors' trophies back to Woking for the first time since 1998.

But it is also a result that will silence criticism of McLaren's management of its drivers throughout the season, and the repeated decisions not to favor any of them.

When it comes to assessing the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, team director Andrea Stella does not hide the tension that reigned in the Papailles garage: “Firstly, we arrived at this final race of the year with doubts about the tires, he revealed to F1 microphones. We didn't know if the strategy would be one or two stops; everyone was unsure. We started the race, and I think everyone thought, "Let's see what the pace will be."

Analyzing the end of the season as a whole, the Italian engineer continued: "The rhythm of Verstappen in mediums was really impressive, it confirms that in the second half of the season, Max and Red Bull They probably had the car to beat. Well done to them, they overcame some major difficulties mid-season, and they gave us a real run for our money in the drivers' title race.

At the Yas Marina circuit, McLaren therefore opted for two different strategies, in order to sow doubt in Red Bull. "We wanted to have two different strategies, Lando on mediums, Oscar on hards. We wanted to make sure Max needed to be cautious and worried about a McLaren."

Far from being satisfied with the double podium finish, he explains that even though the result of the day was sufficient, his team tried everything to go for the victory. “With Oscar on hard tires, we knew he would have a good first stint, and that was the case. Then we had to adapt to a two-stop strategy with Lando, and we just needed to cover ourselves against Leclerc, so we chose a defensive strategy in response to his. With Oscar, we tried to stay out on track as long as possible, try to get a Safety Car and then see with the medium tires if we could catch Verstappen.”

And to conclude in a sporting manner: "He was too fast, and he deserves the victory."Andrea Stella concluded. While Red Bull celebrates this victory, McLaren now has two titles to celebrate.

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