McLaren’s Formula 1 Strategy Woes Hinder Chances of More Victories
McLaren’s Formula 1 strategy woes continue to hinder their chances of securing more victories, despite a major car upgrade in May that brought Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri their first race wins. In a recent interview on the James Allen on F1 podcast, former F1 strategist Bernie Collins attributed McLaren’s strategy decisions to a lack of independence and a committee-driven approach.
Collins, a renowned Sky Sports F1 TV pundit, emphasized that McLaren needs to be more ruthless in their decision-making, citing the example of Norris’s strategy at Silverstone, where the wrong call on when to pit and a poor tyre choice for the last stint cost him the win, favoring Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton instead.
“I think that’s part of the issue with McLaren. When you’re asking a driver continuously what tyre he wants, you slow down the decision process naturally,” Collins explained. “The more independence you can have for the people making those decisions, the quicker those decisions will be naturally.”
Collins also disputed McLaren’s claim that they are still ‘learning to win’ after years of being uncompetitive. “Not really,” she reflected. “Strategy in the midfield is as tough as strategy at the front. You’re still fighting for every position, every point. McLaren in the past have been very good at strategy. I think there’s a little bit of movement of people there, a little bit on their pit wall.”
The former strategist emphasized that as McLaren moves up the grid, they need to adapt to new challenges and competitors. “The people that you’re playing against change. So as you’re a midfield team or a lower midfield team, you’re competing against certain teams and you get to know how they react and how aggressive they might be. And as you move up, that changes and obviously the level you’re fighting against changes.”
In addition to discussing McLaren’s strategy woes, Collins also shared her insights on why women have excelled in the role of chief race strategist in recent years, citing a diverse range of backgrounds and skills that are well-suited to the role. Furthermore, Collins hopes to see more women reach the upper echelons of race engineering in the future. “We don’t have any female race engineers and hopefully that is just a matter of time. But I think the time that you put into becoming that voice for the driver is quite a commitment to F1.”
For Formula 1 fans, it’s clear that McLaren’s ability to improve their strategy will be crucial in securing more victories. As the team continues to adapt to new challenges and competitors, it will be interesting to see if they can rectify their strategy woes and make a push for the top.
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