Verstappen’s ‘great call’ to McLaren as strategy disaster gifts Red Bull two places

Max Verstappen could not resist a dig at McLaren after their Canadian Grand Prix tyre gamble backfired — handing the Red Bull driver two positions before racing had properly settled down..

Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix was forecast to take place on a wet Gilles Villeneuve circuit, although the threat of rain lessened the closer it got to the scheduled start time.

Max Verstappen jabs McLaren ‘great call’ inters start Canadian Grand Prix

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But dealing with a track that had some damp spots after the day’s earlier rain, several drivers, including Red Bull did a reconnaissance lap on the intermediates. But while Verstappen and Isack Hadjar got rid of those tyres before the formational lap, McLaren took the gamble that there would be more rain.

There wasn’t.

Oscar Piastri complained that he was “floating around” on the formation lap and told the team that it would be a “mistake” to stay on the inters. He pitted at the end of Lap 1 for slicks, while Norris, who briefly led, pitted a lap later.

McLaren’s mistake was Red Bull’s gain, and Verstappen raced his way to third place, having been handed two easy positions through McLaren’s gamble.

Verstappen was appreciative, “That was a great call. I was like, ‘Thank you’.”

That, though, wasn’t the only issue for a rival driver, as Verstappen gained a position when George Russell retired while fighting Kimi Antonelli for the lead, another step forward.

“To be honest,” said the Red Bull driver. “I was feeling better in Miami with the car, so I’m a little bit surprised with being on the podium here.

“But you also have to look at it with George retiring, McLarens making a mess of the strategy. So, for me to be here, of course I’m very happy.

“We still did a good job. I think for us to have our first podium is just very positive and, of course, very pleased with that in quite tricky conditions, I would say.”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has defended the decision to start the Grand Prix on the intermediate tyres.

The Italian insists the conditions were optimal for inters when the team left the pit lane, but after three formation laps it had swung in favour of slicks.

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“You have to consider that the tyres are fitted five minutes before the start,” he said. “And that’s kind of seven minutes when we needed to operationally make a decision.

“In our view, the track was greasy. Already there was trouble to keep temperature in the tyres in a dry track, but at the time it was greasy, and it was raining.

“So we thought that at the time you have to make a decision as to what tyres, that was the right tyre for the moment.

“After that, the rain very rapidly stopped, and also there was a double formation lap that took the best out of this decision.

“Because I would have been pretty interested in seeing the cars with the dry tyres, had the race started at the time it should have started.

“So I think a bit unlucky with the fact that the rain just stopped, and the fact that there was a double extra formation lap, which I’m not sure exactly when was the last time that we saw it.

“So in hindsight, we were penalised by the decision, but at the time that the decision needed to be made, I think the conditions existed to fit an intermediate tyre. It just changed very rapidly.”

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