Yesterday at 12:00
Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has stated Red Bull will capitalise
on McLaren's slow pit stops if it is unable to overcome its recent
run of errors. The last three grands prix have seen McLaren conduct
three slow pit stops, including at the Italian Grand Prix, which
resulted in a controversial swap of positions between the two title
protagonists. Lando Norris has suffered two slow pit stops in that
time, while last time out in Singapore, it was team-mate Oscar
Piastri's turn to be held long in his pit box. While the slow stops
threaten to have major repercussions on the title battle, Herbert
also suggested it could bring Max Verstappen into play. "The first
thing McLaren has got to do is to stop making the pit stop mistakes
that they're doing at the moment," Herbert told BettingLounge. "You
remember a couple of years ago, it was world record stops, but for
whatever reason, the pit stops have gone a little bit awry when
they were the best. "They're a little bit fragile, I suppose, just
because we are clearly seeing those mistakes happen. "And Red Bull
are going to try and capitalise on that. So, when it's a very
difficult situation of the undercut, for example, coming into play
maybe down the line, it's forcing that pressure onto McLaren and
this is where the team harmony is probably favouring Max and Red
Bull because of the relationship that he's got with his team."
Herbert issues McLaren advice over title battle Piastri currently
holds a 22-point lead over Norris in the drivers' standings, while
Verstappen is 66 points adrift. However, McLaren has seemingly
slipped back in the pecking order at recent rounds and is winless
at the last three events. As well as managing its pit stop woes,
McLaren is also facing a headache when it comes to dealing with a
potential fallout between its drivers battling for the title.
Herbert stated the best course of action is to allow them to race
and not micromanage the pair. "On top of that, they've got to
manage their drivers," Herbert added. "It's different pressure that
comes into play. Some factors they have created for themselves with
the Papaya rules. "So, to release pressure, let the drivers get on
with it. I've never wanted a team to dictate the outcome of the
championship. That's what you've got to leave to the drivers.
They're not just coming out of the karting of F3. "They are the
cream of racing drivers. They have a skill that even I don't fully
understand how they do what they do in these incredibly fast cars
that have in the modern age. "One easy way of releasing pressure
is let them race and one of them will achieve that championship."
