McLaren's F1 title-chasing duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri delivered the "perfect mix, perfect solution" during their strategy duel in Hungary on Sunday.
That was the verdict of Pirelli motorsport director Mario Isola after witnessing Norris' enforced one-stop plan go head-to-head with Piastri's two-stopper.
After losing two places early on the opening lap that saw Norris drop from third to fifth, and then drift away over the following laps from the front-running duo of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Piastri, the Briton was given the choice of whether to change from the pre-planned two-stop programme and divert to a one-stop.
Opting for the one, it worked perfectly for Norris as he managed to hold off Piastri over the closing laps, despite his hard tyres being 15 laps older than those of the Australian, and on a circuit where overtaking is difficult.
"It worked," said Isola, speaking exclusively to RacingNews365 when asked about the strategy battle. "We had a perfect mix between one and two stop, and this is what we are looking for, to generate some variation in strategies.
"All three compounds were also used. That's another important indication, because clearly, we don't want to have a tyre, typically the soft tyre, that is just for qualifying.
"We want to give three different compounds, with different characteristics, that are able to generate these variations
"Clearly, we were predicting a quicker two-stop strategy because, on paper, it was quicker. Our model did not consider how difficult it is to overtake. That is an important element, because, obviously, we work on an average.
"We do not consider a specific grid position, or the position during a race. This is why we don't have this element in our strategy. In Budapest, it's not easy to overtake, so probably on a circuit where it's easier to do so, the two-stop would be quicker.
"But I'm happy, honestly, with the output."
No point confusing F1 fans
For Isola, what was witnessed was a strategy sweet spot, albeit one McLaren did not embark on from the outset, as Norris should also have stopped twice, team principal Andrea Stella confirmed post-race.
Pirelli, though, has no desire to push the strategy limits with its tyres and go beyond two stops, just to try and spice up the show.
"One and two are our targets," said Isola. "If we have more than that, three or four stops, it's confusing for the spectators.
"It is too much because you will never know exactly the position [of a particular driver] on track and how the race is going to develop.
"When we do a mix of one and two, it is clear, but you still have interesting strategies. So that's the perfect situation."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look back on last weekend's F1 Hungarian Grand Prix! McLaren's interesting control over its drivers is discussed, as is the current struggle being endured by Lewis Hamilton.
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