The McLaren team orders drama at the Italian Grand Prix has become the talk of Formula 1, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri caught in the middle of a controversial position swap.
McLaren’s impressive tire management allowed them to stretch their first stint remarkably long, hoping to catch a lucky break with a safety car to challenge Max Verstappen for the win.
But the safety car never came.
When it was time for pit stops, Piastri came in first, followed by Norris. That’s when things got complicated.
Norris suffered a slower-than-expected pit stop, allowing Piastri to jump ahead into P2. McLaren quickly stepped in, asking the Australian to give the position back to his British teammate.
## McLaren had prepared for “all kinds of scenarios”
Was Piastri surprised by the team’s radio call? Not really.
“I think we have had discussions about all kinds of scenarios,” Piastri told GPblog. “And I think when you’re in the same team, when there’s things outside a driver’s control, there’s a lot more ways you can rectify things.”
“It wasn’t a situation that hadn’t been discussed before,” he added.
The young Australian seemed to take it in stride, suggesting these kinds of team agreements were already on the table.
## “We’re not idiots” – Norris defends team approach
When asked if he’d need to return the favor to Piastri in the future, Norris didn’t hold back.
“Every situation is different, so I think it’s pretty stupid just to assume that kind of thing and just say that’s the precedent you set,” he said firmly.
“We’re not idiots and we have plans for different things. If there was four cars in between me and Oscar, of course he’s not going to let me back past.”
Norris was clear that context matters.
“But in a situation where we weren’t racing, in a situation where we can just be fair, then you’d expect to be fair as a team,” he explained.
The Brit emphasized that today’s pit stop issue wasn’t his fault.
“They don’t want to be the reason to upset one driver or another through no fault of their own. Today was not my fault.”
He even added a bit of humor to explain his point: “If I came flat out into my box and I hit all my mechanics out of the way, I also don’t expect to get the position back. But today it was out of my control.”
Despite benefiting from the team orders, Norris insisted this isn’t how he wants to win races.
“I don’t want to win this way through getting given positions or anything like that. And the same thing with us. We don’t want to lose or win like that. But we do what we think is correct as a team.”
Would anything change once McLaren secures the Constructors’ Championship?
“No, not that I know of. Ask Andrea [Stella, McLaren’s team principal].”
## Verstappen shuts down question about team orders
Race winner Max Verstappen wasn’t interested in getting drawn into McLaren’s internal drama.
When asked what he would do in Piastri’s position, the Dutchman gave a blunt response: “I know that you guys want a fun answer on that, but it’s not my problem.”
When pressed further, Verstappen simply repeated: “Again, not my problem.”
The three-time world champion, who took victory in what turned out to be the fastest race in F1 history, clearly wanted to focus on his own achievement rather than McLaren’s team politics.
