McLaren explains Norris Baku strategy

McLaren has defended the decision to pit Lando Norris late-on during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with racing director Gil de Ferran calling the move simultaneously "aggressive and defensive."

After a virtual safety car was deployed to recover the stricken Red Bull of Pierre Gasly, McLaren opted to pit Norris, dropping him behind teammate Carlos Sainz after running ahead for much of the race, in the hopes of benefitting from fresh tyres in the final stages.

However, Norris could not make use of the fresh rubber and ended up trailing his teammate to the end of the race. Speaking to Motorsport.com, de Ferran explained that the decision was a logical one when the external factors were considered.

"That was a strategic decision that was designed to be both aggressive and defensive at the same time. We obviously had a free pit stop," he said.

"Because we didn't run on Friday there was some uncertainty as to whether the tyres were going to be able to restart well, being quite worn, on a late safety car. There was also some concern over were they going to be able to last the race in a good way.

"By doing a pit stop we protected ourselves against that eventuality with one of the cars, and also put ourselves in a position where if the soft came into the window better late in the race we could have been in a strong position to attack.

"None of that happened, but it was a piece of risk management that we deployed because we had the opportunity to do so."

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