McLaren's race strategy is once again under the microscope after a costly misstep in Miami cost Lando Norris a shot at victory. The reigning drivers' champion was leading the pack at the Miami International Autodrome when Mercedes pulled off a textbook undercut with Kimi Antonelli.

Norris pitted a lap later than Antonelli, but a slightly slower stop sealed his fate. By the time he rejoined, the Mercedes driver was already ahead and never looked back.

"We just got undercut," Norris admitted in his post-race interview with 2009 champion Jenson Button. "There's no excuses other than that. We should have boxed first. I'm gutted to miss out on a win here in Miami—I think it was possible today. But yeah, not the pace to get back past him in the end, so we take it on the chin."

Former F1 TV presenter Will Buxton didn't hold back in his critique, pointing to a pattern of strategic stumbles that has plagued McLaren for years. "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 don't pit when they should have," Buxton said on the Up To Speed podcast. "It happens far too frequently. There are far too many occasions when the drivers end the race frustrated because they knew they had the car under them to win, but the strategy let them down."

Buxton described this as "a continuous and repeated failure of the team for two and a half years, if not longer," while noting that little has changed on that front. However, he offered a glimmer of hope: "They brought in Will Courtenay from Red Bull, so let's hope that all of Will's experience can kind of add to that and ultimately have an effect."

Despite the setback, Buxton sees a silver lining: "It's great to see they're in the mix, because we need somebody to take the fight to Mercedes every weekend—they've clearly got an advantage."

For now, McLaren fans are left wondering if a new strategist can turn the tide before more wins slip through their fingers.