Lando Norris made it clear that McLaren’s strategy call was the wrong one at the Qatar Grand Prix after handing the victory to Max Verstappen with an early safety car call. The British racer had the opportunity to win the title on Sunday by taking first place, but instead left Parc Ferme with just a 12-point buffer to the reigning world champion.

Norris started the Grand Prix from second on the grid, but lost a position to Verstappen before the first corner, dropping to third place. When the safety car came out on lap seven following a crash between Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly, everyone pitted, except for the two McLaren drivers and Haas’ Esteban Ocon, although a time penalty quickly shuffled the Frenchman out of the way.

McLaren believed that their strategy decision was the correct one, giving them more flexibility amidst the Pirelli-mandated 25-lap stint tyre limit, but the pendulum swung the other way. Team-mate Oscar Piastri was forced to settle for second place behind Verstappen, while Norris was fortunate to inherit fourth place after Kimi Antonelli ran wide while defending in the closing laps.

“It’s tough,” Norris told Sky Sports F1 when asked about the team’s strategy call. “We just have to have faith in the team making the right decision. It’s always a gamble. I feel like we’re the ones who took the gamble in a way, but yeah, now it’s the wrong decision.

“We shouldn’t have done it. Oscar lost the win, and I lost P2. So yep, we didn’t do a good job today, but we did plenty of good jobs in other races, and we won the constructors’ seven races ago, six races ago because of that. Not our finest day, but that’s life.”

Norris was then asked if the decision to leave both drivers out was part of McLaren’s ‘Papaya Rules’ philosophy, which prioritises equal treatment above all else. He brushed off the idea emphatically. “Nope, nothing to do with that,” he declared. “I don’t know why everyone keeps thinking that. Free to race.”

This stance was echoed by team-mate Piastri, who was in position to clinch his eighth Grand Prix victory of the season before the strategy mishap gave him a mountain to climb. “I’m not sure today’s decision was to do with that,” the Australian explained. “I think we potentially just got it wrong, but I’ll speak with the team.”

With one race remaining, Norris is now only 12 points ahead of Verstappen, meaning third place will be enough to make him the world champion in Abu Dhabi. Piastri remains a factor, although the 24-year-old is now 16 points behind his team-mate.