McLaren offers 'risky' reason behind unusual Norris Verstappen decision

McLaren boss Andrea Stella has explained how the perceived "risk" of a safety car was a contributing factor in the decision not to undercut Max Verstappen with Lando Norris in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Verstappen was leading the race from pole position with Norris hovering a second behind at Suzuka, which is normally ideal territory for the second car to attempt the undercut on the one in front by pitting a lap earlier. 

Norris was called into the pits in a dummy attempt on Verstappen, before both entered on lap 21, with Norris driving onto the grass on the pit-exit after attempting to pass the Dutchman. 

After the sole stops played out, Norris remained within two seconds of Verstappen but never got close enough to bring the DRS into play. The Briton had to settle for second behind the four-time F1 champion, with Oscar Piastri completing a McLaren double podium. 

In a race of low tyre degradation, Norris performed the same medium-hard strategy as Verstappen. It led to Stella being questioned as to why McLaren had not attempted something different to try and seize control of the race.

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve, in his role as Sky Sports F1 analyst over the weekend, was scathing of McLaren's approach.

Stella's reasoning, however, involved a great deal of caution.

"We could have, but it is unclear whether we would have," Stella told media including RacingNews365 when asked if the team could have undercut the Red Bull. 

"I think pitting Lando would have meant that we could not pit Oscar, and this would have been a problem for Oscar, who would have waited and this would have been a problem with the cars that had just pitted, especially Russell. 

"We will obviously review the gaps in terms of time to understand whether there was the possibility to go for an undercut with Lando on Max. 

"We shouldn't forget though that by giving up track position, you also expose the car you pit to a safety car risk, and Lando would have lost positions in a safety car, should one be deployed.

"In hindsight, with no safety cars, you think, 'Oh, I might have gone for an undercut', but it does come with some risks, if we lost a position with a safety car, it is lost. I don't think we could have overtaken a Ferrari or a Mercedes today."