McLaren has detailed its tyre decisions through two weather transitions at the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix. Norris won by more than 14 seconds and Piastri finished sixth. The team linked its pit timing to rivals’ observed pace, traffic and the time margin available to the leader.
Both cars switched to softs on lap 16
The entire field started on intermediates. Hamilton and Sainz changed to slicks at the end of lap 14. McLaren prepared to respond on lap 15 but waited another lap, bringing both cars in for softs on lap 16.
The team explained that different parts of the circuit were drying at different rates. One apparently dry section could not establish the suitability of slicks for the whole lap. It also watched Hamilton’s actual pace after his stop before judging the crossover.
After the switch to softs, Norris took the lead when Antonelli made a mistake at Turn 1. By lap 30 he was five seconds ahead of Hadjar in second, and by lap 40 his advantage over the then second-placed Verstappen was 10 seconds. Building that margin allowed McLaren to observe rivals before responding at the next tyre change.
Fresh softs against the chance to save a stop
Verstappen fitted fresh softs on lap 43 and Norris stopped on lap 49. Norris briefly rejoined fourth before Piastri let him through. Hadjar, Piastri and Antonelli changed tyres on laps 50, 51 and 53 respectively as others in the contest renewed their tyres.
Waiting for rain before switching to intermediates could save a stop. McLaren also considered that fresh softs brought up to temperature on a dry track would cope better with light rain than worn softs. By his lap-51 stop, Piastri found his original set increasingly difficult and judged reaching the finish on it unlikely. Position and tyre condition determined how long each driver could wait.
The returning rain and the leader’s margin
Rain began around lap 55. Russell and Lawson switched to intermediates on lap 61, followed by McLaren’s double stop. The team considered Norris’s gap to the cars behind sufficient to observe their performance before responding.
Russell had extended his running in the hope of using the rain to save a stop and finished fifth. Norris renewed his slicks and subsequently returned to intermediates on the way to victory. Position, remaining tyre performance and pressure from behind shaped the options available in the same weather.
