McLaren have come under fire from prominent Formula One pundits following Lando Norris's defeat at the Miami Grand Prix, where the reigning world champion surrendered victory to Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.
The Woking-based team's strategic approach proved costly at the Miami International Autodrome, with Mercedes executing a decisive undercut that allowed their young Italian driver to leapfrog Norris during the pit stop phase.
Former F1 TV presenter Will Buxton and seven-time Grand Prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya have both criticised McLaren's race management, arguing the team's conservative tactics handed away a win that appeared firmly within Norris's grasp.
Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Buxton argued that McLaren's strategic shortcomings have become a persistent issue spanning more than two years.
Lando Norris had to settle for second place at the Miami Grand Prix
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"When it comes to strategy... it seems that too often they either panic and pit when they don't need to, or they take too long, and they don't pit when they should have," Buxton stated.
The former presenter highlighted that drivers frequently finish races feeling let down despite having machinery capable of winning.
"That has been a continuous and repeated failure of the team for two and a half years, if not longer. And yet nothing has changed on that side," he added.
Montoya, speaking on his MontoyAS podcast, offered a similarly damning assessment of McLaren's race management in Miami.
The Colombian pundit believes the team squandered Norris's chances by adopting an overly cautious mindset better suited to the previous season.
"McLaren, I think they're still coming in with last year's mindset, the conservative approach of just scoring points, and they threw the race away," Montoya said.
He pointed to the clear evidence that fresh tyres were delivering significant pace advantages, noting that rivals were gaining over two seconds per lap on new rubber.
Montoya urged the McLaren pit wall to adopt a more aggressive stance, particularly given that their current car lacks the dominance of previous machinery.
McLaren should have been more aggressive, costing Lando Norris the win, Montoya insisted
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Norris made no attempt to disguise his disappointment following the race, acknowledging that McLaren's timing had cost him dearly.
"We just got undercut," Norris told 2009 champion Jenson Button in the post-race interview.
"There's no excuses other than that. We got undercut. We should have boxed first. I'm gutted to miss out on a win here in Miami, I think it was possible today."
The situation was compounded by McLaren's pit stop being marginally slower than Antonelli's, leaving Norris without the pace to reclaim the position on track.
"But yeah, not the pace to get back past him in the end, so we take it on the chin," he concluded.