McLaren ‘wake-up call’ with ‘p****ed off’ drivers heading into Abu Dhabi decider

McLaren didn’t win the World title in Qatar. It didn’t leave the Lusail circuit 1-2 for the first time since Australia. And it apologised to the drivers making a “huge mistake”.

But Juan Pablo Montoya believes it could actually be a “good” thing for the Woking team as it’s a “big wake-up call” in the championship ahead of the Abu Dhabi decider.

‘Rough’ Qatar weekend is a ‘good thing’ for McLaren

McLaren lined up on the Qatar grid first and second with Oscar Piastri ahead of Lando Norris in a weekend that, up until then, showed that the Australian driver was back on form.

Piastri stamped his authority in the early laps as he led off the line to gain two seconds on the second-placed driver, which was Max Verstappen, who for the second grand prix in a row, got the jump on Norris on the opening lap.

And then disaster struck.

The Safety Car was deployed on Lap 7 when Nico Hulkenberg crashed out of the grand prix in an incident with Pierre Gasly.

Piastri and Norris were two of only three drivers who didn’t pit in that moment, and, as team principal Andrea Stella later accepted, McLaren “effectively conceded one pit stop to a rival that was fast”.

Piastri, having to do two green-flag pit stops, wasn’t able to recover and finished second behind Verstappen with Norris also losing a position to Carlos Sainz to finish fourth.

It means instead of shaking off Verstappen in the championship fight, given he lined up in Qatar 25 points down on Norris, the Dutchman joins the McLaren teammates in a title showdown in Abu Dhabi, with Norris leading by 12 points ahead of Verstappen, with Piastri a further four points off the pace.

But in a season in which fairness and papaya regulations have dominated McLaren’s stance, former F1 driver Montoya believes Qatar could be what lights the match for an attacking McLaren team in Abu Dhabi.

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And that is what the team needs to be against Verstappen.

Montoya told F1 TV: “I think actually having this rough of a weekend for McLaren, it’s a good thing.

“It’s a big wake-up call, it’s a good: ‘Oh my god, we need to not be conservative, we need to execute’.

“I think all the drivers are p****** off.

“Lando knows he had a rough weekend, from the first practice he struggled. He was sideways, he just was never comfortable here.

“And I think going into Abu Dhabi, I think it’s going to be a very good track for McLaren again.

“And honestly, Max is going to give it the best, but the big question mark, if the Red Bull is better, when does McLaren going to go to Oscar and go: ‘Hey we need to we need to work here together.”

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