Here’s a bold statement: McLaren’s pitstop woes are far from over, and the full fix won’t arrive until 2026. But here’s where it gets controversial—while the team acknowledges the issue, they believe short-term improvements are possible, even as drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri continue to face race-altering delays. Let’s dive in.
This season, both Norris and Piastri have seen their races derailed by sluggish pitstops. Most notably, Piastri’s 5.25-second stop at the Singapore Grand Prix cost him valuable time, while Norris’s 5.87-second tyre change at the Italian GP inadvertently fueled the team orders controversy. And this is the part most people miss—despite these setbacks, McLaren has also delivered the three fastest pitstops of the season, including Piastri’s lightning-quick 1.91-second turnaround at Monza and the 1.94-second stops for both drivers in Hungary. So, what’s really going on?
The issue seems to be one of consistency, with team boss Andrea Stella pointing to the design of the wheel guns as a key challenge. These tools, he explains, make the operation more complex than it should be, putting additional pressure on the pit crew. While Stella is confident in the team’s ability to mitigate these issues in the short term, he admits it’s a work in progress, with a proper solution not expected until 2026.
Here’s a thought-provoking question: Is McLaren’s hardware holding them back more than they’re willing to admit? Stella acknowledges the complexity introduced by the wheel guns but remains optimistic about the team’s holistic approach to review, correction, and testing. He emphasizes, ‘We’re applying corrections, mainly for next year, but we’re also working with our pit crew to mitigate these difficulties now.’
The slow stops have also sparked debates about fairness, particularly in the F1 title fight between Piastri and Norris. Before Piastri’s Singapore setback, Norris had endured a string of delayed tyre changes, raising questions about favoritism. McLaren, however, insists there’s no evidence of bias. Stella clarifies, ‘When you average the pitstop times, they’re nearly identical for both drivers over the season. Recent events just happened to accumulate on Lando’s side, but the data doesn’t support any trend.’
A deeper analysis of the 2025 season’s pitstops reveals minimal differences between the drivers. Excluding outliers like penalty-related stops (Norris in Bahrain and Piastri in Britain), Norris’s average time is 3.02 seconds, while Piastri’s is 2.97 seconds. Media averages slightly differ, with Norris at 2.67 seconds and Piastri at 2.94 seconds. But here’s the real question: Are these minor discrepancies enough to sway the title fight, or is it all just part of the racing drama?
As McLaren navigates these challenges, one thing is clear: the team’s pitstop saga is far from over. Will they find a way to balance consistency with speed, or will 2026 be the only light at the end of the tunnel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments—do you think McLaren’s hardware is the real culprit, or is there more to the story?
