Photo: Race Pictures

Wolff puts the title fight’s full weight on McLaren’s shoulders in Abu Dhabi

19:33, 03 Dec

byNorberto Mujica

McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris leads the standings heading into the final race of the F1 2025 season in Abu Dhabi.

“It's more theirs to lose than Max's to win. It's always easier to come from the back and if he were to win the championship that would be an incredible comeback."

- Toto Wolff.

Photo: Race Pictures

Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff thinks McLaren’s decision to remain a fair entity in the fight for the title between both its drivers Norris and Oscar Piastri tipped the team toward missing the pit stop call in Qatar.

“You know, everybody tries to do their best,” Wolff told GPblog after the race in Doha. “And we discussed it this morning. It's a super boring strategy if you have a safety car at that stage, you have no choice than to take it because if you don't, you lose a full safety car stop, there's another pit stop you have to do.

“And I think what they were thinking is to have more flexibility but it was still on the losing end that stop.”

Eyeing the battle for the title between the main beneficiary of McLaren’s strategic error, Max Verstappen, and the papaya drivers, Woff argued that the championship ultimately rests on the Woking-based team’s shoulders.

The pressure is on McLaren

“I don't know but clearly, you know, we've been in this position,” said the Austrian team principal. “It's more theirs to lose than Max's to win. It's always easier to come from the back and if he were to win the championship that would be an incredible comeback.

“Still the probabilities are quite low when you look at the position, but I guess pressure creeps in and you want to do it extra well and I think if you want to do it extra well, then I can only say from us you need to stay in your modus operandi, that you know,” Wolff concluded with an advice to Mercedes’ customer team.

Montoya urges McLaren drivers to wake-up

Six-time Grand Prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya called the Qatar Gp outcome a “wake-up call” for McLaren, highlighting the drivers' frustration and Norris' particular struggles all weekend. Read Montoya's full comments here.

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