The Safety Car Moment That Changed the Qatar GP

Every front‑running team, including Red Bull with Max Verstappen, dived into the pits to switch tyres and “bank” one of the two mandatory stops under neutralised conditions. McLaren alone kept both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris on track, sacrificing what later proved to be a free pit stop versus their main title rival.

Stella’s explanation: fear of traffic

Andrea Stella has since confirmed it was a conscious decision, not a communication error. He explained that the pit wall feared that if McLaren pitted when others stayed out, both cars could rejoin in traffic, losing their clean‑air advantage. The team believed the MCL39’s pace and expected tyre degradation would still allow Piastri and Norris to open enough of a gap later.

In reality, virtually the entire field stopped, making McLaren’s traffic concern unfounded and turning their call into “conceding one pit stop to a rival that was fast today,” as Stella admitted.

Why “flexibility” backfired

McLaren engineers initially defended the call as giving “flexibility” in how to distribute stints. However, because the FIA limit locked everyone into two 25‑lap stints anyway, Verstappen’s camp effectively received the same flexibility plus a Safety Car discount on one of the stops, while Piastri and Norris had to complete both stops at full racing speed.

Impact on the Title Fight

By not stopping under the Safety Car, McLaren “gave away around one pit stop” worth of time to Verstappen. The Red Bull driver converted that advantage into victory, cutting his deficit to Norris to just 12 points and moving ahead of Piastri in the standings ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale.

The error came only a week after McLaren’s double disqualification in Las Vegas, adding further pressure to a team that had looked favourites for both titles. McLaren has announced a “very thorough” internal review into this strategic failure.