It was an eventful F1 Italian GP for Oscar Piastri and the McLaren team, who closed out a 2-3 double podium that was met with controversy.
The weekend was expected to be a significant one, with Piastri inching closer to the title after the Dutch GP. However, Norris was proving to be the stronger driver of the two, coming ahead of Piastri in practice sessions and later, qualifying in P2 ahead of his rival teammate in third.
On race day, Norris persisted as the lead McLaren with Max Verstappen too fast for both. But trouble ensued when a late pit stop vanquished the gap to Piastri, allowing the Australian to come out ahead. Soon after, Piastri received team orders asking him to let Norris through, to which he obliged.
While the two came away with a double-podium, the finishing order was quite controversial. Especially given the tight battle between the two for the Drivers’ Championship.
Piastri: “There’s no right answer to that decision”
Speaking at the FIA Drivers’ Press Conference ahead of the Azerbaijan GP, Piastri commented on the incident. Asked whether he felt he had enough freedom in the title fight, given the team’s intervention, Piastri answered, “Yes, I do“.
“Again, ultimately, I think my biggest takeaway from Monza was that on pace and my own performance that weekend, I didn’t deserve to finish higher than third — regardless of what else happened in the race,” he stated.
The Australian driver illustrated his view on the situation further.
“The decision that we made as a team — there’s no right answer to that decision. If we had done the opposite, then you’d have the opposite half of the fans saying that was wrong, and vice versa. So ultimately, there’s no correct decision in that.”
“Am I surprised? Not really,” he continued, adding, “Obviously, it was a big moment from the race, and I feel like a lot of fans are quite quick to jump on things that are deemed controversial. So, I’m not that surprised. But I do think we have enough freedom to control our own destiny in the championship.”
McLaren’s use of team orders to swap Norris and Piastri’s positions after a botched pit strategy harkened back to the 2024 Hungarian GP. A similar incident, whereby the team, rather pressingly, ordered Norris to yield position to Piastri after the Brit got an undercut from P2. The decision was equally, if not more, controversial and costly in Norris’ pursuit of the 2024 title.
A different outcome upon review?
Piastri was further questioned whether, having reviewed with the team, he would still be expected to give up the position under the same circumstances. The driver answered, “I think in exactly the same scenario, then yes, I would expect it to be the same.
“But I think the likelihood that you’re going to have the exact same scenario is virtually impossible. So, you know, every scenario is going to look different,” he said. “There was, again, another factor that was ultimately deemed to be the reason for the swap, and I respect that decision. So it’s impossible to know, but if the situation was the same — exactly the same — then I expect it to be repeated.”
Upon receiving the orders during the Italian GP, Piastri contested over the radio that slow pit stops are a part of racing, before giving up the position. Asked whether his stance had changed upon reviewing and consulting with the team, the driver responded, “No, I’d still stand by it. And that is kind of a decision we’ve made — that a slow pit stop is part of racing.
“Obviously, in the car at the time, the context wasn’t there about what else had happened in terms of the pit stop sequencing. So, again, it was decided that there was another factor for the reasoning in swapping. So again, every situation is going to look a bit different,” Piastri emphasised.
Where does this leave the Championship?
After the Italian GP, the gap between Piastri and Norris reduced from 34 to 31 points. The narrowing gap means better odds for the latter to continue challenging for the lead. However, with only 8 rounds remaining on the calendar, Piastri remains in an advantageous position.
