Asked to comment on what happened on lap 7, when everyone pitted following the safety car deployment except the two McLaren drivers, the Frenchman told GPblog: "We were surprised. It's always easy to say after the race what is the right strategy, but we were very surprised because on our side we had sort of pre-decided that it would be the first lap we can take and we will take it."

Verstappen was the first of the others to pit, pulling off a winning gamble that allowed him to take the lead and manage the gap all the way to the finish, securing a crucial victory in the title fight that will be decided in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

Mekies finally added: "I cannot judge for what was their thought process at that moment. But yes, we were very surprised."

Brundle highlighted three key areas where McLaren gambled at the Qatar GP, only for all of them to backfire.

The British team essentially sabotaged their own race by keeping both drivers out on track, allowing Max Verstappen and the rest of the field an almost free pit stop. The Dutchman then used that advantage to reopen the championship battle all the way to Abu Dhabi.