Stella: beating Max unrealistic despite McLaren's edge

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has defended the team's decision not to implement team orders between their drivers during the closing stages of the Imola Grand Prix, insisting there was never a realistic chance to challenge Max Verstappen for the win.

The Italian squad faced criticism after declining to swap positions between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris late in the race when the British driver had fresher tyres and potentially more pace.

Stella explained the situation with characteristic clarity.

"We attempted to unlock various scenarios to try and beat Max, but at no stage did we see that we had enough race pace," Stella said.

Turn 2 decisive moment

The critical moment came at the race start when pole-sitter Piastri lost the lead to Verstappen through a bold move at Turn 2. From that point, McLaren was forced to pursue alternative strategies.

"Even when, with the final safety car, Lando could pass Oscar and tried to push as much as possible, pretty much Max was responding to Lando,"

Stella continued.

"To overtake here, you need seven, eight-tenths of a second. The main factor remains the track position and the outcome of lap 1."

McLaren opted for an early pit stop for Piastri, which ultimately compromised his race by putting him into traffic on hard tyres that didn't perform as expected.

Strategy gamble explained

When questioned about Piastri's early stop, Stella defended the call as necessary given the Australian's feedback about tyre degradation.

"At the time, Oscar's tyres were going off by a good chunk, and Oscar was passing some feedback that that was the case,"

Stella elaborated.

"It was unclear entering this event whether it would have been a one or a two-stop. If it was a two and if the hard tyres had behaved just a little bit better, then the two would have been a very strong strategy."

The hard compound proved less competitive than anticipated, neutralizing any potential advantage from the alternative strategy.

This became evident when Piastri couldn't pull away significantly from those who remained on used mediums.

No team orders controversy

Despite calls from Norris over team radio suggesting he should be allowed past his teammate, McLaren chose not to issue team orders.

Former champion Jacques Villeneuve has criticized this decision, but Stella remains convinced it was correct.

The team allowed Norris to make his own move on track, but the British driver ultimately couldn't close enough to Verstappen to mount a serious challenge for the win.

"We needed to deviate and create the condition to beat Max today. So this is something you can only judge in hindsight,"

Stella explained.

"If you deviate, that was the time to go for a two-stop, so no regrets."

Stella also emphasized that team results remained the primary focus.

"Ultimately, for the team, it's the same outcome. And for Oscar, it could have been the way to win, and sometimes when you take some risks to win, there may be a little bit of a downside."

The result confirms Verstappen's continued dominance, with McLaren left to analyze what might have been had their pole position been converted into race leadership beyond Turn 1.