McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has defended the aggressive tire strategy that ultimately destroyed his team’s chances at the Canadian Grand Prix.
With unpredictable rain threatening the circuit right before the start, McLaren gambled by fitting intermediate tires on both cars while the rest of the front-runners chose slicks.
Stella explained that weather radar data predicted a heavy, prolonged downpour within minutes of the race start, which would have given McLaren a massive competitive advantage.
However, the anticipated heavy rain never arrived, and the track dried up much quicker than forecasted, rapidly wearing out the intermediate tires and forcing costly extra pit stops.
Despite leaving Canada empty-handed, Stella insisted that taking high-stakes risks is necessary to beat top teams, though he admitted they must refine their decision-making process moving forward.
