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Did McLaren's Strategy Cost Norris a Key Point

Norris Skips Fast Lap: Tactical Blunder by McLaren?

27/09/2024

Lando Norris missed a crucial fastest lap point in Singapore—was it a calculated risk by McLaren or a strategic misstep?

In the final laps of the Singapore GP, Lando Norris nearly secured a strategic pit stop but opted out, letting Ricciardo snatch the fastest lap.

Toward the end of the Singapore race, Lando Norris was flirting with a 30-second lead, nearly a free pit stop to switch to soft tires and securely claim the fastest lap point, which Daniel Ricciardo eventually took from him.

Andrea Stella is reluctant to resort to such tactics due to the risk of a pit stop mishap.

“No, we are not considering that; it’s risky at this stage of the season. It’s better to secure 25 points than to lose them due to a bad pit stop, a jammed wheel, or something else. If the championship tightens to the point of being decided by individual points, then yes, it’s worth considering.”

“Regarding Singapore, in the second half of the second stint, our attention was drawn to the fact that as soon as we ended up behind backmarkers, the car began to be difficult to drive. So, it was about avoiding problems, mistakes, and jams for Lando.”

“We had already seen in testing that as soon as you find yourself behind a slow car, it feels like there’s a problem with the car. It’s just the effect of dirty air.”

“We thus focused entirely on bringing the car to the finish. We suggested to Lando to try for the fastest lap with the tires on his car, which he did, but after that, we didn’t want to talk about the fastest lap anymore.”

Did McLaren's Strategy Cost Norris a Key Point

Did McLaren’s Strategy Cost Norris a Key Point? Did McLaren’s Strategy Cost Norris a Key Point?

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