McLaren’s Andrea Stella believed there was no scenario to beat Max Verstappen in Imola once the Dutchman had pulled off the lap 1 overtake.

Late in the race, Lando Norris was on fresh tyres behind Oscar Piastri but McLaren declined to swap their drivers, a decision they have been criticsed for.

Andrea Stella explains crucial McLaren call in Imola

Piastri was on pole but lost out in Turn 2 when Verstappen pulled off a daring overtake to gain the lead of the race.

From there, the Austrlain was on the backfoot as McLaren pitted him early and into traffic and by the time of the final safety car, Piastri was out of fresh rubber.

Norris meanwhile was able to pit and emerge P3, prompting a radio message from the Birton suggesting he should be allowed to pass.

McLaren declined to make that call, instead allowing Norris to overtake on track on merit but the likes of Jacques Villeneuve have criticised that call.

Stella though believes there was never any realistic chance of overtaking Verstappen.

“We attempted to unlock various scenarios to try and beat Max, but at no stage, I think we saw that he had we had enough race pace,” Stella said.

“Even when, with the final safety car, Lando could pass Oscar and tried to push as much as possible, pretty much Max was responding to Lando. So here to overtake, you need seven, eight-tenths of a second. So I think it’s what it is. The main factor remains, the track position and the outcome of lap 1.”

“As the race played out, it became more clear that those who did not pit early were on the better strategy. Asked if it was a mistake to bring Piastri in so early, Stella suggested the conditions of his tyres meant it was a must.

“Well, I think at the time, Oscar’s tyres were going off by a good chunk, and Oscar was passing some feedback that that was the case,” Stella said.

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“It was unclear entering this event, whether it would have been a one or a two [stop]. If it was a two and if the hard tyres had behaved just a little bit better, then the two would have been a very strong strategy, despite having to overtake some other cars.

“But once he went on hard tyres, actually, it wasn’t much faster than Lando and Max that stayed out on the used medium. So I think the hard ties were a little less competitive than we thought.

“But we needed to deviate and create the condition to beat Max today. So I think this is something that you can only judge in hindsight. But if you deviate, that was the time to go for a two-stop, so no regrets.

“And ultimately, for the team, is the same outcome. And for Oscar, it could have been the way to win and sometimes when you take some risks to win, there may be a little bit of a downside.”

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