We got that wrong, but we'll learn from that and we move on. The drivers did a great job in tricky conditions today with Lando finishing P3 and Oscar in P4. The upside is we walked away with more points than our closest competitors. Congratulations to Lewis on a great race. We go again in Hungary.
Zak, don’t beat yourself up! I actually thought the team’s strategy was the best idea at the time, because you weren’t holding either driver up by double-stacking, and it also meant you didn’t put both eggs in one basket (which could have paid off if it continued to rain a bit longer). Hindsight is a great thing, but I thought it was a good call. Lando’s tyre choice seemed all his, too. Also, Lando shouldn’t have gone offline to defend into Stowe, putting himself on the damp part of the track at the same, when the best line into that corner is on the outside instead. He could have held that position a bit longer. In all though, a great performance. The innocent mistakes came about because the drivers still lack experience, but they’ll get there in the end.
All headed in the right direction, Zak. But I can't be alone in thinking that Lando is WAY too hard on himself. Drivers and their teams make mistakes in the heat of battle - they all do it, regardless of how many titles they may have won. I'm certain Lando will become a serial winner and his team mate won't be far behind either. Good times ahead, I'm enjoying the journey.
Andrew B.
1w
Winning is not all about coming first. Winning comes from experience, recognising what went well and what could have been better and indeed, what shouldn't be repeated at all. In motor-racing much like the corporate world, it isn't one person that makes the win, there is a huge team behind both front and back of house. Whether P4 or P14, celebrate as a team and you will win more times than can be counted.
They both did a great job! It was a tough call. To try and beat Hamilton you had to go soft, but to hold off Verstappen probably medium would have been better, but with such changeable conditions knowing the speed of the track drying and the track temp coming back up was only possible with hindsight. Just a small change in conditions could have made Max’s tyre choice the wrong one. Keep you heads up!
Still too many mistakes being made and it’s affecting Landos confidence, medium tyres would have gifted him the win
You have two of the top drivers on the Grid (personally I think Lando is the best on the grid at the moment) but believe he is way to hard on himself. You just need to look at his face after yesterdays race. A team in this sport will never get it right all the time and Lando needs to accept that and focus on the positives. I realize its a trait of a winner to be hard on themselves but positivity and focus will give him the results that he wants, especially with a Team like you have. Good luck with the next race!
JP Clarke
1w
I know we're all arm chair managers/strategists etc But sometimes these things seem so glaringly obvious to us at home, it baffles me. I know we don't have sight of the data you guys have, but to not have Oscar back off to double stack was madness. He could have even backed up the other drivers. Yes, it's risky because of releasing Oscar with other teams double stacking, but surely less risky than leaving him on an ice rink with Converse on. Lando not picking Mediums was nuts. He even said that McLaren is terrible on softs. He was awesome on mediums. He shouldn't have been racing to cover Lewis on soft or medium for Max, it should have been which tyre can you win this on? And everyone at home screamed mediums. We the fans are devastated, so know that you feel this 10 or 100 fold. On to the next race. This time last year we just so happy with the upgrades and being faster, and now we're gutted we're not getting race wins. What a transformation and turn around!
I was shouting at the TV to bring Lando in 2 laps before you did & put him on Mediums. - I'm surprised you didn't hear me! I'll send you my phone number if you like, so you can call me for strategic tips on the next few races. 😉
Its fine admitting it went wrong but this is multiple times, its cringe worthy hearing a race engineer asking the driver what tyre he wants!! Is there no strat team monitoring the other cars giving the race engineer some info so he can atleast advise the driver of the bigger picture! I am sorry but you currently dont deserve the drivers you have, you need to improve
Retired Submariner
1wUnfortunately you didn’t ask Oscar to pull back and double stack for intermediate tyres he lost too much time when slicks were preferable but medium was definitely the correct choice again unfortunately Lando opted for soft and couldn’t defend off max but a fantastic race thank you McLaren