McLaren’s pit crew came under fire again at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after Lando Norris received a slow pit stop for the third consecutive race, and Guenther Steiner has questioned one comment from team principal Andrea Stella on the topic.
The championship-leading McLaren team registered their worst result of the season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, bringing just six points back to Woking as they missed out on their first chance of securing the constructors’ championship in the 2025 F1 season.
Oscar Piastri crashed out after just five corners, and Lando Norris struggled in dirty air as he failed to make his way through the pack.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
324 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
299 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
255 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
212 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
165 |
The British driver was also hindered by a slow pit stop for the third race in a row, finishing in the same position he started the race: seventh.
With Piastri’s deficit at the top of the standings cut down to 25 points at the chequered flag in Baku, McLaren will need to fix their pit stop issues with Lando Norris in order for the 25-year-old to be able to challenge his papaya counterpart for the title.
READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine
Guenther Steiner questions Andrea Stella’s belief that McLaren needs ‘better’ pit stop equipment
Speaking on an episode of The Red Flags Podcast, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner questioned one of Andrea Stella’s comments regarding the poor performance of the McLaren pit crew at the Azerbaijan GP.
When asked how McLaren are able to complete consecutive slow pit stops for Norris, Steiner replied, “I think they are asking themselves that because it’s something you don’t want to happen. It’s one of these things that shouldn’t happen.
“I think Andrea said we need better pit stop equipment or whatever. I find that comment a little bit weird because I’m pretty sure that McLaren has got the best one you can buy, you know.
“I don’t think they have to save money on the pit stop equipment. I’m pretty sure about that one, you know. So I’m surprised about that comment. I was like, ‘Wow, what do you mean?’”
Norris was stationary in his McLaren pit box at the Azerbaijan GP for 4.13s. At Monza, he was stationary for 5.87s, and at Zandvoort, the British driver waited 4.83s for the go-ahead to exit.
The extra time at a standstill has been crucial in determining whether all of his hard work before the instruction to “box, box” was rewarded with a successful stop or not.
For example, in Baku, if McLaren were able to get Norris serviced two seconds earlier than their actual time, the nine-time Grand Prix winner would have found himself finishing further up the field in fifth place.
Guenther Steiner also believes McLaren’s pit stop mistakes are ‘very strange’
Continuing on his podcast appearance, Steiner noted how McLaren’s preparation for pit stops is a cut above many of their rivals on the F1 grid, adding, “You need the equipment if you want the two-second pit stop or the 2.1, you need the best equipment, otherwise you cannot do it.
“The 2.5, 2.6 seconds, if you have got good people and not the latest equipment, are possible to do. The most important thing is to be able to do it consistently.
“I know for sure that McLaren has got a good pit stop training program, they’ve got people there who train the guys and all that stuff. It’s very strange.
“It’s very strange because they didn’t make a lot of mistakes over the years lately, and just in the last two, three races, they made a few mistakes and that cost them some points.”
McLaren’s slow stop at Monza was the catalyst for many theories over favouritism within the Woking-based racing outfit’s set-up. Stella had to clarify things with Norris and Piastri on how the team will look at pit stop mistakes in the title fight going forward.