Stella: We didn't expect the others to go to the pits.

      When the safety car was deployed onto the track on lap seven, McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris stayed out on track, while everyone else, with a few exceptions led by Max Verstappen, pitted. That decision by McLaren’s strategists cost the team the win, and after the finish McLaren boss Andrea Stella admitted that a mistake had been made on their part.

      Andrea Stella: "Overall a disappointing result. We had the potential to win the race with Oscar, but we lost the victory, and with Lando we lost the podium. Of course, this is not the result we wanted.

      We will assess the decision taken at the moment the safety car came out on lap seven. As usual, the team will draw conclusions and return stronger at the next round, which will be even more important.

      We decided not to pit. To be honest, we did not expect the others to pit. But when everyone pitted, that decision became the right one. When you are leading a race, you do not know how the others will act.

      If both our cars had gone into the pits, Lando would have lost time. But the main reason we did not pit was that we did not expect the others to peel off for a pit stop. We made a decision, and it turned out to be wrong."