Will Buxton Questions McLaren Strategy As Canadian Grand Prix Blunder Raises Deeper Concerns

F1 pundit Will Buxton has suggested a wider issue is at play within the McLaren garage following their strategy blunder at the Canadian Grand Prix.
At the race start in Montreal, McLaren gambled by starting both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris on intermediate tyres, despite the circuit drying and no further rain forecast.
Piastri warned the team to switch to slicks, but both McLarens ran the opening laps on intermediates before pitting and losing significant positions in the process.
Piastri ultimately finished P11 after a collision with Alex Albon, while Norris retired from the race due to a gearbox failure.
Speaking after the race, Piastri explained his take on the call: “It was a group call. I was one of the people that said yes to the inters.”
Piastri continued: “Between the anthem and getting in the car, it had gotten significantly wetter on the ground, and given how difficult getting to the grid was, I thought that the inters, if you could get temperature into them, would be faster.”
He added: “That was our whole thinking and then the rain stopped. So yeah, it was a bit of a shame. We thought we were doing the safer thing, and the right thing, and it wasn’t.”
The topic was discussed on the Up to Speed podcast, where Buxton stated: “Starting the original formation lap on the inters, I have no issue with. Not reacting, and this is the inherent problem with McLaren and their strategy.”
Buxton went further, adding: “I’ve said it before, they either don’t react when they should or they panic and they do something they don’t need to do. In this case it was a total lack of action when they needed to make that action.”
The pundit concluded his assessment bluntly: “I do not understand how this keeps on happening at McLaren. Like it’s almost every single race weekend now where it is staring you in the face and inaction or indecision is still a decision like you decide not to do anything and it’s just baffling.”
Co-host Naomi Schiff offered her own reading of the situation, suggesting the strategy error pointed to something deeper within the team’s mentality heading into the race weekend.
Schiff said: “It looked like they were looking for an advantage because they didn’t feel they could necessarily win this race conventionally, so, they were trying to pull a blinder with this decision.”
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