Oscar Piastri, Qatar GP 2025 Press Conference - Credit: Race Pictures

Brundle rips into McLaren's 'grave error' amid Qatar GP strategy blunder

09:24, 02 Dec

Updated: 09:28, 02 Dec

byTobia Elia

Martin Brundle highlighted three areas where McLaren had placed their bets at the Qatar GP, only to end up left holding the short straw.

“This was a grave error, because hardly anyone else did that”

- Martin Brundle

The British team shot themselves in the foot by keeping both drivers out on track, effectively giving Max Verstappen and the rest a free pit stop, with the Dutchman managing to reopen the championship race all the way to Abu Dhabi.

According to Brundle, the first mistake was assuming that “others would do the same thing in staying out and Verstappen would have to negotiate traffic for a while on the restart,” as he wrote in his Sky Sports column.

The second was the belief that “flexibility on their tyres would pay dividends later in the race, not least if there was another Safety Car, and in any event pitting with a much less congested pit lane.”

Photo: RacePictures.

The third assumption was that “they would have much fresher and faster tyres in the closing stages to usurp a struggling Verstappen on his long-stinted tyres. None of them played out.”

Finally, Brundle described McLaren’s strategic call as “a grave error, because hardly anyone else did that, and Piastri had such a lead already that he would have comfortably pitted and exited in the lead without holding Norris up too much while he waited for service.”

How Red Bull outplayed McLaren with impeccable strategy in Qatar GP

Once the safety car was deployed following the collision between Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly, Red Bull, like the rest of the field, opted to pit both cars. McLaren, however, chose to stay out — a decision that would later prove costly for Norris and Piastri.

Red Bull, in contrast, called in their four-time world champion, giving him the advantage needed to cruise to a comfortable victory.

Speaking after the race, Red Bull’s Principal Strategy Engineer, Hannah Schmitz, broke down the strategy that allowed the Dutchman to secure a crucial victory for the title race.

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