McLaren’s Intermediate Tyre Gamble at the Canadian GP Had Logic Behind It

McLaren’s decision to start the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix on intermediate tyres raised immediate questions, drawing comparisons to their missed pit stops in Qatar just seven rounds earlier.
Oscar Piastri repeatedly lobbied the team to reverse the call before the start, but McLaren held firm, ultimately finishing outside the points alongside a retiring Lando Norris.
Given both drivers started from the second row of the grid, the outcome looks damning on paper. However, McLaren were not alone in making the call, and other factors contributed to their failure to score.
Montreal was unusually cold on race day, with the track still damp from earlier rain. Many drivers used intermediate tyres for their reconnaissance laps some 40 minutes before the start.
For several drivers, it marked the first time they had run wet weather tyres on their 2026 cars at all during the entire race weekend, underlining how rare the conditions were.
McLaren started on intermediates alongside Nico Hulkenberg in 11th and Gabriel Bortoleto in 13th. Williams split their strategy, with Carlos Sainz Jnr on intermediates and Alexander Albon on softs three places behind him.
The unusually low temperatures meant the treaded intermediate tyres would warm up faster than slicks, an advantage that ordinarily would not apply when drivers typically battle to manage excessive tyre heat.
However, two consecutive extra formation laps delayed the race start by six and a half minutes, allowing more time for the track to dry and significantly undermining the intermediate tyre starters’ position.
Starting on intermediates also removed the obligation to use two different dry-weather compounds during the race. Had McLaren led early and swapped to slicks after a few laps, they could potentially have run to the finish without a second stop.
Piastri pushed for a switch to softs before the start, but changing tyres would have forced McLaren to abandon their second row grid positions and begin from the pit lane instead.
Even drivers with far less to lose, such as Valtteri Bottas starting 21st, did not abandon their intermediates before the formation laps began, suggesting the reasoning held some weight across multiple teams.
Race control’s decision to order a second formation lap was itself a close call. Marshals had nearly completed the recovery of Arvid Lindblad’s stationary Racing Bulls when the instruction came through.
Had the race director chosen to delay the start rather than run two formation laps, drivers could have changed tyres on the grid without sacrificing their starting positions entirely.
Norris demonstrated the logic in McLaren’s thinking by using his superior grip at the start to take the lead, showing the intermediates did provide an initial advantage in those conditions.
After the race, Max Verstappen noted that while on the grid he observed Lewis Hamilton appearing to make a late change in his choice of starting tyre, raising questions about Ferrari’s own deliberations.
Whether Ferrari genuinely considered intermediates or used the apparent indecision as a tactical distraction to keep rivals guessing remains unclear from the available information post-race.
McLaren’s gamble rested on a borderline set of conditions that left them exposed the moment additional formation laps came into play, which is precisely what unfolded on the day.
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