McLaren reveal strategy 'gambling' stance as 'powerful weapon' threatens

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has explained that there are rules that bind what his drivers can do strategically, after Lando Norris' "gamble" at the Hungarian Grand Prix proved controversial.

The British driver beat Oscar Piastri to victory at the Hungaroring, having fallen to fifth, by employing the offset one-stopper, with the Australian unable to find a way back past after pitting twice.

At Zandvoort, the McLaren team-mates line up first and second for the Dutch Grand Prix, and with just nine points separating them, all eyes will be on how the Woking-based squad manages the race.

Piastri starts from pole, and with it marginal between a one-stop and a two-stopper at the coastal circuit, the Australian is vulnerable to Norris again using an alternate approach.

However, whilst McLaren does not want to restrict variance and limit divergent strategies, Stella maintains that the pair will be governed by rules, which he insists were not broken by what the Briton did on the outskirts of Budapest.

"The strategy is one of the variables through which the competition between Lando and Oscar can express itself, can be unfolded," the Italian told media, including RacingNews365.

"But let me say first of all, that we have Lando, we have Oscar, we have Max Verstappen. So, first thing we have to do in the interests of the team and in the interest of Lando and Oscar, is to make sure that we beat Max, who is not very far [behind] - he's two-tenths away from us.

"And for the same reason, based on the difficulties in overtaking and the fact that there could also be some weather, first of all, we have to make sure that we, as a team, get the best result for the team, with Lando and Oscar finishing, possibly, in the order that car performance would say, and at the moment, we can see that McLaren is the fastest car."

Addressing the situation head-on, the 54-year-old added: "When it comes to the options from a strategic point of view between our two drivers, we do have some rules for that.

"I'm not gonna share what rules they are, but whatever you have seen so far in terms of how the strategy has been utilised, it's always been within our rules.

"So it's perfectly right, for instance, that there are deviations in terms of strategy, and this is not necessarily gambling.

"Like in Hungary, the one-stop wasn't completely off the cards. It was unlikely to be one of the strategies, but it wasn't simply a matter of a gamble."

Stella, however, is not convinced it will simply be a two-horse race between his two drivers, pointing to the looming threat of Max Verstappen in third, who has a "powerful weapon" at his disposal, according to the McLaren boss.

"And even here, the strategy is not far between a one and a two-stop, so I think it will be, once again, interesting, not only between the two McLaren drivers, but also with the other drivers," he explained.

"Max, for instance, has a new soft that he saved from qualifying, and it could be a pretty powerful weapon if you can deploy this weapon strategically at the right time."