McLaren defends intermediate-tyre call after Canadian GP gamble backfires

McLaren has defended the strategy call that saw Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri start the Canadian Grand Prix on intermediate tyres, saying the conditions at the moment of the decision justified the gamble even though it did not work out.

Andrea Stella said the track was greasy and it was still raining when the team had to choose its opening tyre. McLaren also said the rain stopped soon after the tyres were fitted and the circuit dried more quickly than expected.

The team’s official race report said extra formation laps reduced the benefit of the intermediate-tyre call. That left McLaren exposed once the track improved and the advantage of the wetter-weather tyre disappeared.

Post-race coverage from Formula 1 and Reuters-syndicated reporting echoed McLaren’s view that the decision was reasonable in the moment, but unsuccessful in hindsight. McLaren said the day simply did not go its way.

Why McLaren made the call

McLaren’s explanation centred on timing. The team said the surface was still greasy and rain was falling at the point when the tyre decision had to be made, making intermediates appear to be the correct option.

That judgement was undermined by the pace at which conditions changed. Once the rain stopped and the track began to dry, the intermediate tyre lost its edge and McLaren’s early gamble no longer held up.

What happened next

The result left McLaren having to defend a strategy that was understandable in the moment but costly by the end of the race. The team’s own report and Stella’s post-race comments both framed it as a decision that made sense from the pit wall before the weather turned against it.

No major source has contradicted McLaren’s account of the call itself. The dispute is over the outcome, not the explanation: the team believes the choice was right when it was made, but the race moved on faster than expected.