McLaren team principal Andrea Stella admitted the team made a strategic error by starting both drivers on medium compound tires instead of intermediates at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Lando Norris qualified sixth but dropped to the back of the field within one lap when the track remained wetter than expected.
The team expected rapid track drying based on observations during grid laps, but conditions took much longer to improve than anticipated. Oscar Piastri recognized the mistake immediately and pitted for intermediates after the first lap, while Norris stayed out hoping for improvement and lost significant time.
Stella explained that intermediate tires had been severely damaged during formation laps, while Sepang's abrasive surface typically allows dry tires to work easily. The team misjudged the crossover point where dry tires would become faster than intermediates on the drying track.
The decision wasn't a simple split strategy between teammates, but rather McLaren convincing both drivers that dry tires would work quickly. Norris acknowledged the team's reasoning after his intermediate tires had lost performance during earlier running, making the medium tire choice seem logical at the time.