It’s been over a month since Lewis Hamilton won his first race in two and a half years. Yes, we’re talking about the British GP. The moment fell straight out of a fairytale, after all, the legend was back in the game. While we always choose to discuss the records Hamilton made and broke in Silverstone, we often slip out to pay attention to McLaren’s disastrous strategies. Who knows, these are the reasons why the Orange gang is failing at winning more races?

McLaren had too many strategic loopholes. Fans went to the extent of saying the team doesn’t deserve to win a race with such a pit wall. Hamilton was managing the race with his experience and game plan, while the Piastri-Norris duo was struggling with their indecisive blueprints. They single-handled ruined Norris’ plausible win.

Bernie Collins, McLaren’s former strategist, believes the team should take lessons from Lewis Hamilton’s magic. Speaking with Autosport, Collins said: “If we go back to Silverstone, Hamilton was told to box by the pit wall very early, when Perez and Leclerc stopped from dry to inter, and he refused because of his knowledge and his experience, and we just need to build that a little bit and just get to that point, I think, with McLaren.” The team kept Norris out for an extra lap when all his other 3 competitors pitted. McLaren failed to make a proactive decision. This caused them not just a win but some precious. However, P3 and P4 aren’t bad, but there could’ve been a P1.

It remains a mystery why Lando didn’t change his soft tires to medium ones. The Mercedes star was surprised to learn that McLaren missed out on such an important factor. If such debacles persist, the Papaya army would be far away from winning a championship.

Lewis Hamilton was stunned to learn McLaren’s strategy at Silverstone

The British GP was nothing less than a thriller. With rain showers triggering multiple lead changes, the drivers required intermediate tires. However, the ultimate victory battle boiled down to a three-way contest between Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris. Verstappen had opted for hard tires, while Hamilton and Norris chose soft. But, the McLaren driver had the option for new mediums. This would’ve given him an advantage on the track. But well, strategic failure you may call it; it was a bad idea to keep Lando in softs.

Post-race, Hamilton asked Lando, “You on soft as well?” adding: “But you had two new mediums?” A disappointed Norris replied, “I know”, to which, Lewis further responded in rather disbelief, “You could have gone to the medium. A new medium would have been faster probably.” It wasn’t something Norris was unaware of. McLaren’s pit wall went haywire midway. They put an unnecessary option before Lando. The team said: “We have softs to fight Hamilton for the win or you can choose mediums to fight Verstappen for second place.” The driver preferred to fight for the win, of course. But, the poorly phrased question betrayed McLaren’s pre-race strategies.

McLaren’s persistent issue has been poor communication and driver input. Had their strategies been perfect or nearly perfect, Silverstone could’ve been in the palm of their hands. But an opportunity missed by one is gained by the other. Norris should try moving forward with his instincts like Lewis Hamilton, and McLaren should try and improve their game plan. They’ve missed out on too many wins because of faulty plans, so, the second phase of the season will be crucial if they want to win a title.