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McLaren driver Lando Norris was disappointed with the strategy chosen by the team in the initial stage of the Dutch GP, and he appeared particularly vexed on the team radio.
After pulling out a strategy masterclass at the Belgian GP a month ago, McLaren fumbled their chances of a podium finish at Zandvoort due to a strategy mishap. The team opted not to pit Norris for intermediate tires in the first two laps, only to change their decision on the following lap - when it was too late.
After seeing his rivals Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso opting to pit on the second lap, Lando Norris expressed his desire to pit for intermediates. However, his race engineer Jose Manuel Lopez and the strategy team were hesitant to pit.
On lap 3, Norris fumed over the team radio as he was being overtaken by intermediate-shod cars. Here is the transcript of their conversation:
Norris: "So box mate, we're too slow!"
Jose: "We're faster than Inters cars."
Norris: "What the f***? Are you stupid?.... BOX Lando Pitlane!"
While McLaren opted to pit Norris, they left his teammate Oscar Piastri on the slicks for the entirety of the first stint. This was seemingly the optimum strategy after having stayed out on the first two laps.
Piastri was setting the quickest times when the track dried up. Norris also ended up behind his rookie teammate after he got rid of his intermediates.
This isn't the first time we have heard the 23-year-old driver expressing his frustration over the radio; he has had plenty of outbursts under similar circumstances. The first few laps of the Dutch GP gave flashbacks of Sochi 2021, where the team and the driver threw away an easy victory.
McLaren and Lando Norris squandered their opportunity for a podium finish at Zandvoort and they could only salvage a seventh-place finish at the end of the chaotic Dutch GP.
Lando Norris reflects on his outburst and the wrong decision at the Dutch GP
After a disappointing end to their weekend at Zandvoort, the McLaren driver admitted that he was "really bad" at dealing with such matters in public.
"I won't say too much about it, otherwise it will make headlines again, and I'm really bad at it," he was quoted by motorsport-total.com.
Norris admitted that the team made the wrong decision in the Dutch GP and added that they would review their process.
"I think it's clear that we made a wrong decision," he said after the race. "That's something we're going to review and discuss because I think we've hit a couple of those things this season and yes we've lost too many positions and a lot of points this year to a couple of those things."
McLaren and Norris underachieved last weekend but will get an opportunity to set things right this weekend at the Italian GP.
