McLaren chief defends Japanese GP strategy: "Not possible to overtake"

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has reflected on the team's second and third place finish at Suzuka.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has addressed questions surrounding the Woking outfit's strategy during the Japanese Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen managed to clinch the victory at Suzuka after fending off the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

McLaren attempted to throw off the Milton Keynes squad with a call to bring Norris into the pits on lap 19 only to quickly follow it up with instructions for the current championship leader to stay out. Unfortunately for McLaren, this didn't pay dividends, and they weren't able to capitalise either on an undercut or an overcut.

In the closing laps of the race, Piastri closed in on his team-mate and requested a chance to challenge Verstappen. However, no team orders were called.

Stella explained to Sky Sports following the race that it would have been difficult to threaten Verstappen with the Dutchman starting from pole position. He explained:

"The race was mostly decided yesterday. There wasn't much action going on in the race and we ended up with the same result as qualifying.

"We got a lot of points [with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on the podium] and so it was encouraging again for our car but the others are not far behind and sometimes ahead."