The worst strategy error of 2025? McLaren’s mystifying Qatar GP call analysed

When the Safety Car was deployed on lap seven of the Qatar Grand Prix, teams generally did not rush to tell their drivers whether to pit or not. Mostly they waited until each of their cars was rounding the final corner before instructing them to pit.

Clearly, none of them wanted to tip their rivals off about their strategies. As it turned out, all of them decided to do the same thing, with one significant exception.

McLaren left both their cars on track. It was a decision which cost Oscar Piastri a likely win and left both drivers ruing valuable points lost to championship leader Max Verstappen.

What led McLaren to make a decision which, on the face of it, was such an obvious mis-step? As is often the case things are never quite as obvious as they seem. Other teams will have weighed the same risks McLaren did, each facing slightly different circumstances, and come up with quite different answers.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explained after the race they were concerned that if they pitted and some others stayed out they would have resumed the race in traffic. That would have meant sacrificing the precious fresh air at the front of the field and discarding a set of medium compound tyres after just seven laps.

They would also have faced the problem of getting one or both cars in and out of a busy pit lane at a time when many of their rivals were also coming in. Events proved this was a realistic concern, but perhaps not to the degree McLaren feared.

When the field pits en masse, teams have to release their cars into a crowded fast lane, knowing a hesitation or hiccup can cost time and places. If both cars are running within a few seconds of each other on the track and both are brought in at once, the second will have to wait and lose more time. Any delay for the first car would also affect the second.

Precisely this scenario occured at Mercedes, whose cars were just over four seconds apart at the time, similar to the McLarens. Andrea Kimi Antonelli reached their pit box first but had to let Fernando Alonso and Isack Hadjar pass before leaving, which cost him a place to Carlos Sainz Jnr. George Russell had to wait behind Antonelli, which meant he was delayed leaving his pit box by Oliver Bearman and Liam Lawson, which cost him a position to Hadjar.

McLaren had a couple of reasons to be more concerned about this than their rivals. Their pit box was closest to the pit lane entrance, therefore every rival car entering the pits behind them would pass their position before stopping, increasing their chance of being delayed.

McLaren were also more vulnerable to this problem because their cars were nearer the front of the field. Piastri and Norris were first and third respectively but the next highest pair of team mates, Antonelli and Russell, were fourth and eighth. In the case of their key rival Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda’s pit stop needs were never going to interfere with Verstappen’s even if he hadn’t been 14 places behind him.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

For all this, McLaren’s decision was still startling. It might have made sense in a conventional race, where drivers could get away with pitting just once, but Pirelli’s one-off rules for this round meant they had to come in twice. As they were limited to 25 laps on one set of tyres, a Safety Car on lap seven out of 57 was perfectly timed, which was why all the other teams leapt at it (Haas, the only other exception, left Esteban Ocon out for one lap then brought him in).

A pit stop at Losail is costly, taking around 26 seconds compared to a green flag lap. McLaren accepted the likelihood of having to make two of those stops under green flag running when they could have had one for free. Even taking into account the risks described above, this was a questionable call at the time and not just with the benefit of hindsight.

But here’s the kicker for McLaren: had they brought both their cars in, not only would they have still had a chance of keeping Piastri ahead of Verstappen, they might also have made the Red Bull driver’s life more difficult.

Verstappen had to pause in his pit box to let Antonelli past, then squeezed out in a tight gap between the Mercedes and Sainz. Had McLaren brought Piastri in, he could have pulled into the same gap and Verstappen would have had to wait even longer. It probably wouldn’t have been enough to cost him a position, but Piastri clearly had a chance to keep his hard-won lead.

McLaren’s calamitous decision therefore piled the risk on their drivers and made life easier for their key rival. With the championship hanging in the balance, this was a dreadful time to make arguably the worst strategy call of the season.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

2025 Qatar Grand Prix lap chart

The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

2025 Qatar Grand Prix race chart

The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:

2025 Qatar Grand Prix lap times

All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

2025 Qatar Grand Prix fastest laps

Each driver’s fastest lap:

2025 Qatar Grand Prix tyre strategies

The tyre strategies for each driver:

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

2025 Qatar Grand Prix pit stop times

How long each driver’s pit stops took:

2025 Qatar Grand Prix

• 2025 Qatar Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings
• Australian politician raises bizarre Piastri conspiracy theory at senate meeting
• Piastri’s radio messages show McLaren vastly underestimated Verstappen’s pace
• Antonelli did not help Norris, Red Bull admit after claims by team members
• Did McLaren slip up by trying to treat their drivers equally? Verstappen says no

Browse all 2025 Qatar Grand Prix articles