27/05/2025 06:30
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has called Lewis Hamilton's Monaco Grand Prix pace into question, insisting he should have capitalised on Red Bull's strategy. All drivers were mandated to make two pit stops during the Monaco race as F1 attempted to boost the spectacle at a track that has famously been extremely difficult to overtake around. Verstappen did not make his final stop of the race until the penultimate lap as he led the race ahead of the net top three, hoping for a safety car or red flag. When it didn't come, Verstappen pitted and fell back to fourth place - the same position he started in. Stella has voiced confusion as to why Hamilton, who was running in clear air in fifth place, was not able to close the gap and jump Verstappen when the Dutchman made his final stop. "I have to say, I'm not sure if Lewis had problems, but Lewis should have been in the race today," Stella told media including RacingNews365 . "He actually should have been the one capitalising on this kind of approach from Red Bull. "I still have to review the race chart and what everyone did, but I don't think there's much merit when you are P1, P2 and P3 to try what Verstappen did." Stella argued the unorthodox Red Bull strategy would not have worked for McLaren as it chased the win with Lando Norris and a podium for championship leader Oscar Piastri. "For us, that strategy, you were always going to be one pit stop down - so I'm not sure it would have worked for us at any point," Stella added. "I will have to look back [to see] whether it was of interest to us. "When we saw the data location was a 511 for qualifying and the race, we thought they could try something like that. "But that strategy was always gonna bring you in the position you are."
