Oscar Piastri’s two-stop strategy backfired completely in Imola – but at least he managed to limit the damage with third place
“Maybe we reacted too early.” – Oscar Piastri is anything but satisfied with third place at the Grand Prix in Imola. After starting from pole position, he initially lost the lead to Max Verstappen’s Red Bull driver in Tamburello. He then initially kept pace in the hope of regaining the lead with better tire management.
But this time, everything turned out differently. The McLaren MCL39 did not have the same tire durability advantage as in previous races. On the contrary, this time it was the McLaren driver who came into the pits after just 13 laps.
At that point, the medium tires were going through a weak phase lasting about five to six laps. Those who stayed out recovered, while Piastri, who had fallen back into midfield, had to overtake one car after another.
“It’s never a great day when you start from pole position and finish third,” said the championship leader self-critically. “Turn 1 wasn’t ideal, and then it was a very tough race – especially because of the virtual safety car and the subsequent safety car phase. That made everything even more difficult.”
Piastri was one of the first drivers to come in for a tire change. The strategic move backfired. “We discussed it a bit [on the radio], but maybe we reacted too early,” Piastri admitted. “We need to analyze that again.”
The early switch to hard tires dropped him back to eleventh place in heavy traffic, while Verstappen and Norris were back to consistent lap times at the front as the medium tires recovered.
Everything is going against Piastri
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella nevertheless defends the strategy: “Oscar’s tires were noticeably deteriorating. We didn’t know if it was going to be a one-stop or two-stop race. If you go for two stops, that was the right moment. But the hard tires didn’t work as well as expected. It was an attempt to beat Max – but unfortunately, the risk didn’t pay off.”
After that, the race simply went completely against McLaren: the virtual safety car for Ocon’s retirement allowed Verstappen to make his first stop with significantly less time lost. For the two-stoppers like Piastri, the VSC couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Piastri then made his second pit stop and had no fresh tires left. When the safety car brought the field back together again in the final stages due to Antonelli’s retirement, Norris and Verstappen were able to put on fresh tires once more. Piastri was not.
McLaren McLaren
Norris nails a gutsy pass on Piastri F1 ImolaGP pic. twitter.com/aEQmPzOZxO
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 18, 2025
“That made it even more difficult, of course,” explained the Australian. In the final stages, Norris easily passed him on fresh tires.
“When you take risks, it can sometimes backfire,” says Stella. ‘But we tried to create a scenario where we could beat Red Bull. In the end, it wasn’t enough – but Oscar got the most out of his situation.’
World championship battle remains exciting
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner confirmed: “Oscar had graining on his right front tire early on. The pit stop threw him into traffic, and that basically ended his race. Our tire wear was low, Max was able to stay out and drive his rhythm.”
In the end, Piastri finished third in a race that was much more difficult for him than expected. “It was a tough day, but races like this happen in a title fight. The important thing is that we learn the right lessons from it,” he said.
There is one small consolation: despite the setback, Piastri retains his lead in the drivers’ standings. The McLaren driver is now 22 points ahead of Max Verstappen – the gap has narrowed, but Piastri remains at the top. Norris lies in between, now 13 points behind.
