08/09/2025 07:25
Oscar Piastri has stated that the instruction to relinquish second
position to Lando Norris during the Italian Grand Prix was
"ultimately" a "fair" call by McLaren. The Australian did not agree
with the Woking squad invoking team orders during the race at
Monza, but has since fallen in line with the reigning F1
constructors' champion's public stance on the matter. He was heard
questioning the decision over team radio and refused to elaborate
on those remarks during the post-race FIA press conference at the
Temple of Speed. The 24-year-old, having given the place back,
finished third, behind Norris and runaway winner Max Verstappen,
who put together a superb display in his Red Bull. McLaren got
itself into a mess during its pit stop phase, which came late in
the race. After pitting Piastri - who was behind - first, at the
suggestion of Norris, the British driver suffered a slow stop and
emerged from the pits behind his team-mate. It left the team
relying on Piastri's cooperation in returning second to Norris. He
duly complied, but it left a stain on the weekend - and highlighted
the pitfalls of its dedication to parity and fairness. It produced
a six-point swing in the F1 drivers' standings, with the former now
leading the latter by 31 points, not the 37 could have. Reflecting
on a difficult afternoon for McLaren, he highlighted the multiple
learning points the papaya team can take from the round. "A
trickier day for us. There were quite a few learning points from
the first part of the race and also towards the end," Piastri said
on Sunday evening. "It's inherently quite a unique track, so there
are some things that we can improve on for next year and other
low-downforce tracks later in 2025." Addressing the point of
controversy head-on, the nine-time grand prix winner reiterated his
stance that there will be conversations at McLaren over the
episode. "In terms of the call to swap, ultimately, it was fair,"
he said. "We have things to discuss, as we always do with these
sorts of racing situations. It's now time to refocus ahead of
Baku."
