McLaren’s strategy blunder a “wake-up call” ahead of Abu Dhabi title decider

Ex-F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya believes McLaren’s strategy blunder at the Qatar Grand Prix is a necessary “wake-up call” ahead of this weekend’s title decider.

Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri are all still in F1 title contention heading into this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Norris has a 12-point lead over Verstappen, so a podium finish for the former will be enough to take the title.

Piastri will likely need a retirement for Norris, and to beat Verstappen to the win, to become 2025 F1 world champion.

The McLaren pair’s task has been made significantly harder after a poor strategy call in Qatar.

Unlike the rest of the field, McLaren opted to keep their two drivers out on track under the Lap 7 Safety Car.

While this gave them track position, it effectively handed Verstappen 26 seconds in race time, as he could make one of his two stops under the Safety Car.

McLaren couldn’t convert either driver to a one-stop strategy due to the rules put in place by Pirelli for the weekend — a maximum of 25 laps on one set of tyres amid safety concerns.

While it was a “rough weekend” for McLaren, Montoya feels it should push them to be less conservative in the title decider.

“I think actually having this rough of a weekend is a good thing,” Montoya said on F1 TV’s post-race show.

“It’s a big wake-up call. It’s a good ‘oh my god we need to not be conservative’. All the drivers are pi**ed off. Lando knows he had a rough weekend. From the first practice he struggled, he was sideways.

“He was never comfortable here and I think going to Abu Dhabi it’s going to be a very good track for McLaren again.

“Honestly, Max is going to give it the best but the big question mark is if the Red Bull is better, when does McLaren gonna go to Oscar and say ‘hey, we need to work here together’.”

Norris “has to clear his head”

Jolyon Palmer thinks Norris remains the “big favourite” despite two difficult rounds.

Norris and Piastri were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix due to excessive plank wear.

Without that, Norris would have been crowned champion in Qatar.

Palmer has called on Norris to “clear his head” ahead of the big finale.

“I still think Lando is the big favourite. He has to clear his head,” Palmer added.

“I was just thinking. Max would be out of this championship because after Las Vegas Lando had a 42-point advantage between getting a DSQ and having a strategy gaff, that has come so far down.

“They were engraving probably the trophy after the chequered flag fell. When you feel that you’ve been that close and now suddenly someone else might win it is somebody. The mental reset he’s got to have right now is huge but I think he can do it and McLaren still have the best car.”