As Lewis Hamilton wins the British GP, F1 insider points out major shortcomings of his former team

While Lewis Hamilton won the 2024 F1 British GP and his first race after 945 days, F1 pundit Will Buxton addressed how the seven-time world champion's former team, McLaren, struggled at Silverstone. He touched on the poor pitstop strategies that cost them a race win.

The British GP was a thrilling race to witness, particularly because of close action at the top and changing weather conditions, forcing teams to get creative with their strategies. The fight for the race win was between Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lando Norris, and Max Verstappen.

In the middle stint, Mercedes decided to double stack their pitstop and fit intermediate tires to both their cars. On the other hand, McLaren only called Lando Norris in for a pitstop while Oscar Piastri kept the lead of the race. The Australian pitted late in the race and hence ended up several places behind the top spots.

When the sun started to shine on the Silverstone track, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were quickly called to the pits for slick tires. Meanwhile, McLaren kept Lando Norris out on inters and called him several laps later. As a result, the Brit lost places and was unable to challenge Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who eventually secured P2 and P1, respectively.

McLaren's strategy calls were pointed out by F1 presenter Will Buxton on his official X account. He wrote that the team's chances for a race win were lost in the first pitstop itself. He then underlined that the British team needs to improve their strategy game if they want to win a constructors' championship against strong rivals like Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, etc.

"I’d argue they threw it away at the first stop. And that they’ve thrown away 3 of the last 6 races. With arguably the best overall car in the sport, if they want a shot at their first constructors’ title this millennium, McLaren has to take proactive control of their strategy," Buxton said.

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Lando Norris blames himself for not making the right decision and losing British GP to Lewis Hamilton

Lando Norris has blamed himself for not making the right decisions during the 2024 F1 British GP, which eventually cost him a race win. Speaking in the post-race press conference, he said that despite making the wrong decisions during the race, he was happy to at least finish in the top three places in his home race.

"I don’t know. I’m not making the right decisions. At the same time I blame myself today for not making some of the right decisions. I hate it, I hate ending in this position and having excuses for not doing a good enough job. But I’m still happy, I’m still going to enjoy it," Lando Norris said.

"I think we still did so many things right, so many positives. Especially here in Silverstone, the one place I would love for everything to go perfectly, it didn’t today. But I’m good, we’ll come back stronger next year and try again," he added.

After the British GP, Max Verstappen continues to lead the drivers' championship with 255 points, while Lando Norris is in second place with 171 points. Lewis Hamilton, who won the race at Silverstone, is still in eighth place with 110 points.