McLaren concedes Hamilton would have won Barcelona as strategy questioned

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has dismissed any notion that Lewis Hamilton's Spanish Grand Prix victory was down to luck, conceding the Ferrari driver likely would have won even without the virtual safety car. The admission comes as the Woking squad questions whether committing Lando Norris to a two-stop race was the right call against Hamilton's winning three-stop strategy.

Why it matters:

Hamilton's raw pace laid bare a performance gap McLaren couldn't overcome through strategy alone. Norris secured his first podium since Miami, but the fact he could keep Mercedes within reach yet had no answer for Hamilton underscores where the team truly stands. Stella's blunt assessment signals that the deficit extends beyond the pit wall and into outright car speed.

The details:

• Norris started fourth and inherited third after Kimi Antonelli's late retirement, snapping a run of back-to-back DNFs with valuable points.
• McLaren attempted an undercut on Mercedes with an identical two-stop strategy, yet the move failed due to a lack of "outright pace."
• Hamilton committed to a three-stop and was described by Stella as "probably the fastest car out there," indicating Ferrari held a clear race-day advantage.
• McLaren briefly considered pivoting to a three-stop after seeing strong hard-tire performance in the second stint, though Stella admitted Hamilton "definitely would have won" with that approach anyway.

What's next:

The honest debrief suggests McLaren is prioritizing an honest evaluation of its pace deficit over deflecting blame onto strategy. With Norris back in the points, the focus shifts to understanding why the team couldn't match Hamilton's blistering race trim — a crucial question if McLaren wants to convert podiums into victories in the rounds ahead.