Stella defends McLaren's intermediate gamble that derailed Norris and Piastri in Montreal

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has defended his team’s decision to start both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on intermediate tyres at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, insisting the conditions at the time of the call made it a reasonable choice — even as the strategy unravelled spectacularly across the afternoon.

Light rain fell on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve throughout Sunday morning, but conditions improved ahead of the race. The vast majority of the grid opted for slick tyres, leaving Norris and Piastri — sharing the second row — as the only frontrunners on intermediates. As the track dried rapidly, both drivers were forced into early pit stops to switch to medium tyres, surrendering significant track position.

From there, McLaren’s afternoon deteriorated further. Piastri collided with Alex Albon while attempting to recover through the field, and Norris eventually retired with a mechanical problem, leaving the team with nothing to show from what had been a promising grid position.

Stella, however, was careful not to frame the tyre choice as a straightforward error. “You have to consider that the tyres are fit five minutes before the start and that there were kind of seven minutes when we needed to operationally make a decision,” he explained. “In our view the track was greasy. Already there was trouble keeping temperature in the tyres on a dry track, but at the time it was greasy, and it was raining. So, we thought that at the time you have to make a decision as to what was the right tyre for the moment.”

The McLaren boss also pointed to an additional complicating factor: two extra formation laps were required after Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bulls car stopped on track. Stella argued those additional laps stripped away whatever early advantage the intermediates might have provided, as they ate into the window when conditions were at their most treacherous for slick runners.

“I think we’re a bit unlucky with the fact that the rain had just stopped and the fact that there was a double extra formation lap,” Stella said. “In hindsight we were penalised by the decision but at the time that the decision needed to be made, I think the conditions existed to fit an intermediate tyre.”

There was a brief moment that appeared to vindicate the call. Norris, starting third, jumped into the lead off the line thanks to the superior grip of his intermediates — a sign that, in different circumstances, the gamble could have paid off. Stella noted he had personally weighed in on the decision, concerned that cold conditions would make it exceptionally difficult for slick-shod drivers to bring their front tyres up to temperature in the opening laps.

The result leaves McLaren reflecting on a weekend that offered real promise but delivered nothing in the constructors’ standings.