F1 Pundit refutes McLaren’s claims of still ‘learning to win’ amidst fight against Max Verstappen
Ex-F1 Strategist Bernie Collins asserted that McLaren had to make bold strategy calls in the midfield well before it became a title threat.
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Andrea Stella, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
McLaren emerged as the real title contenders to Max Verstappen and Red Bull this season. The Woking-based team arguably has the fastest car this year. However, despite such impressive pace, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have won just a single race each while Verstappen has bagged seven race victories.
The British team has accepted its mistakes in the past few races. With Oscar Piastri admitting that there have been missed opportunities. McLaren insisted that it was still learning to win again in F1 after spending a decade in the F1 midfield. However, F1 pundit Bernie Collins did not agree with this statement.
Collins highlighted that in Formula 1, race strategy is intense as much in the front as in the midfield. She was a race strategist at Aston Martin and as such is aware of how strategies played a role in the battle against the likes of McLaren. Bernie Collins pointed out that every driver and team is fighting for each and every position in the race.
Not really. Strategy in the midfield is as tough as strategy at the front. Some will agree or disagree, but you're still fighting for every position, every point.Bernie Collins said on the JA on F1 Podcast
Bernie Collins highlights McLaren’s good strategy calls ‘in the past’
McLaren seemed to have struggled in terms of race strategy this year. The team made a wrong call for Lando Norris at Hungary which allowed Oscar Piastri to take the lead. Norris was not happy as he lost the race to his teammate. Bernie Collins claimed that in the past, the Woking-based team had made good strategy calls in the midfield. She reckoned that the movement of people at the McLaren pit wall could be attributed to the team’s recent struggles. With the team not understanding how to counter calls made by Mercedes or Red Bull.
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 people that you're playing against change... and as you move up, that changes and obviously the level you're fighting against changes.Bernie Collins stated
Certainly, Bernie Collins reckons that there is a lot of work to do for the McLaren pit wall. The Woking-based team cannot afford to lose in race strategy as it could be detrimental to its title prospects. Fans would hope to see Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri win more races in the second half of the season and challenge Max Verstappen.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2310 Articles Published)