Although McLaren emerged victorious at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, team principal Andrea Stella has revealed that Max Verstappen’s unexpected three-stop tyre strategy left the Woking-based team momentarily unsettled.
What initially seemed like a manageable approach quickly turned into a potential threat as the Red Bull driver closed the gap on both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, forcing McLaren into strategic responses to maintain control of the race in Barcelona.
Verstappen first pitted at the end of lap 13, switching from softs to another set of soft tyres. That early stop convinced McLaren that the Dutchman was on a three-stop plan, which Stella initially dismissed as a concern.
“We thought it’s not going to be a problem because we have already overtaken him on track,” Stella told the press after the Spanish GP, but the pace of Verstappen in the middle phase of the race shifted that assessment quickly.
By the time Piastri pitted from the lead on lap 22, Verstappen had used his fresh tyres to gain over five seconds on the Australian.
With a strong middle stint on mediums, the four-time world champion began to reduce the deficit to the front-running McLarens, forcing the team into a reactive position.
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Verstappen pace forces McLaren to rethink race strategy
With Verstappen’s performance intensifying, McLaren responded by calling Norris in for a stop on lap 48, followed by Piastri one lap later.
The close gap between their two drivers made pit timing critical, as both were at risk of being undercut. Stella acknowledged that Verstappen’s gains caught them off guard.
“He was fast and when we went on the medium tyres in the second stint, we were pushing, controlling the pace and he was catching up very rapidly,” Stella explained.
“At some stage we even asked our drivers to push more. And both gave answers like, ‘I’m not sure I have much more pace than this.’”
Complicating matters further was the tyre management element. According to Stella, both Norris and Piastri had to carefully manage rear tyre temperatures, while Norris reported issues with graining on his front tyres.
Stella clarified that this was more likely front-left overheating than traditional degradation. The decision to stick with a two-stop strategy ultimately paid off, but not without risk.
“It comes with some risks in relation to the fact that when you have such a fast three-stopper, you need to push on a two-stop,” said Stella. “If you push too much at the start of the stint then you’re going to have some degradation at the end — which ultimately is what happened with Verstappen.”
McLaren’s careful balance of pace and tyre preservation ultimately secured them a 1-2 finish, but the tension behind the scenes was real as Verstappen’s relentless pace momentarily shifted the momentum of the race.
