05/08/2025 15:36
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."
