The McLaren pit stop blunders which have robbed Oscar Piastri of world championship lead

McLaren's pit stop blunders have cost Oscar Piastri 32 points this season, leaving the Australian scrambling for a miracle when he could have been leading the championship.

Whether it is just coincidental or part of some elaborate secret ploy to help Lando Norris become world champion, Oscar Piastri has repeatedly come out second best under McLaren’s questionable pit stop strategies.

Five times this season alone, Piastri has lost valuable points to his English team because of pit stops that directly favoured Norris.

Including the points Piastri lost with the points Norris gained, the total swing over the season has amounted to 32.

In a year when the championship has come down to the final race with drivers still in contention, every point matters so it’s no wonder Piastri’s Aussie supporters are crying foul.

Heading into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, Norris leads Piastri by 16 points, but if McLaren had just got their pit stop strategies right, it would be the Australian way out in front by the same margin and odds-on to become the next world champion.

There wasn’t much to celebrate despite coming second in Qatar for Australia’s Oscar Piastri. Picture: Getty

ROUND 6 – MIAMI

Piastri was leading Norris in the sprint race in South Florida, which started in torrential rain. After 13 of the scheduled 18 laps, the street-circuit started to dry so Piastri was called into the pits to change from intermediate to slick tyres, with Norris set to follow him in a lap later. However a safety car was deployed immediately after Piastri had just finished his stop, forcing him to slow down. That allowed Norris to make his pit stop and return to the circuit in the lead. The race then finished under the safety car with Norris first and Piastri relegated to second with no chance of fighting back. The swing cost Piastri two points.

McLaren's mechanics work on Oscar Piastri’s McLaren at the Emilia Romagna GP. Picture: AFP

ROUND 7 – EMILIA ROMAGNA

Max Verstappen effectively won the race at the famous Imola track in northern Italy with a daring overtake of Piastri on the first corner but the Australian also lost second place to Norris because of an ill-advised pit stop. After losing the lead to Verstappen, Piastri was told to pit early, to avert the potential threat of being undercut by Charles Leclerc, while Norris remained out on the track. The move backfired for the Australian late in the race when Norris got a cheap pit stop under a safety car then was able to use his fresher tyres to overtake Piastri five laps from the end to pinch second, effectively costing Piastri six more points.

ROUND 14 – HUNGARY

Despite being comfortably in front of his teammate, Piastri was once undone by an alternative strategy that benefited his teammate and main title rival. While Piastri took two stops to keep up with – and eventually get past – Leclerc, who started from pole, Norris only stopped once. Although he was much faster, Piastri spent the closing laps unsuccessfully trying to get back past his teammate, so had to settle for second place, resulting in another 14 point swing.

Lando Norris has benefited from a lot of lucky breaks during pit stop this season

ROUND 16 – ITALY

Verstappen cruised to his third win of the season by nearly 20 seconds but the real drama was the battle unfolding behind him. Norris was holding second spot with Piastri close behind him in third. However, Piastri overtook Norris when the Englishman was delayed in the pits because of a botched stop, caused by a faulty wheel gun. To his and everyone else’s surprise, Piastri told to hand the position back to Norris, costing him yet six more points,

Oscar Piastri would be leading the world title if McLaren’s pit stops hadn’t cost him so many points

ROUND 23 – QATAR

Piastri was cruising out in front and leading the race from pole position after winning the sprint the day before. Norris had dropped back to third place after a slow start, when everything suddenly changed with the deployment of a safety car. While every other car immediately stopped to change tyres, McLaren made the bewildering decision to remain out on the circuit. It proved a disastrous call that backfired spectacularly, with Piastri missing out on the race victory and eventually finishing second while Norris lost a podium when he finished fourth behind Carlos Sainz. The blunder cost Piastri another four points.

Originally published as The McLaren pit stop blunders which have robbed Oscar Piastri of world championship lead