Anthony Davidson thinks Kimi Antonelli strategy ‘proved’ McLaren made a critical error in Japanese Grand Prix

McLaren could not mount an effective challenge for the victory on Max Verstappen in the Japanese Grand Prix, despite Lando Norris starting on the front row.

Norris had missed out on pole by 0.012s but in the race, Verstappen’s pace proved too much for the Briton to overcome after 53 laps.

Verstappen made sure that he angled himself towards Norris at the start, launching out of his grid slot and taking the lead into Turn 1. Norris would maintain a steady 1.5 second gap to Verstappen throughout the first stint, before pitting on the same lap as the Dutchman which led to a tussle exiting the pits.

Red Bull’s pit stop for Verstappen was slightly slower due to having a reserve pit crew, which allowed Norris to get alongside him exiting the pit lane. The McLaren driver took to the grass as the fast lane narrowed, retaining P2.

The decision to pit Norris at the same time has been criticised by Anthony Davidson, who felt the team did not make use of the clean air effectively when speaking on Sky Sports.

Anthony Davidson thinks McLaren didn’t make use of clean air

Former F1 driver and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve felt McLaren wasn’t bold enough with their strategy, especially as they had both their cars within five seconds of Verstappen by the first round of pit stops.

Davidson believes Andrea Kimi Antonelli‘s pace on the hard tyre later in the race having stayed out for longer, proved that McLaren should have focused on getting their cars into clean air.

“You look at someone like Antonelli who stayed out there long on the medium tyre and he did that late pit stop, he’s consistently lapping faster than all the cars in front of him and holds the fastest lap of the race. He closed in on George Russell, so they’ve proved that going long and using your car in free air works,” said Davidson.

“I just don’t understand why McLaren didn’t do that with one of their cars. Maybe they’ll have their reasons, but at least one of their cars should’ve used the potential of this amazing beast around this track. It’s clear to me that the car is faster than the Red Bull today on this track, as it has been all week, especially on the long runs. They’ve sat in dirty air the entire race.”

Max Verstappen moves closer to Lando Norris in Drivers’ Championship

Verstappen edges closer to Norris in the Drivers’ Championship with his Japanese GP victory, with the Dutchman now within a point.

The Australian GP marked the first time that Verstappen has not led the championship since May 2022, with Norris taking the lead after winning the opening round.

Verstappen finished on the podium in Australia and while he didn’t repeat the feat in China with a fourth place, he has shown time and time again that he is not one to write off.

Damon Hill congratulated Verstappen on the victory, branding it a “Maxster Class” when speaking on social media after the race.