McLaren’s decision to swap Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri back into their pre-pitstop order at Monza has drawn both praise and caution, with team boss Andrea Stella calling it an act of “fairness and racing values” – while Mercedes chief Toto Wolff warned the move risks setting a precedent that could come back to haunt them.
The drama unfolded with McLaren having decided to run long on their tyres hoping for a safety car to fall their way and return their drivers to the fight with Max Verstappen. Yet by lap 46, the world champion having fitted fresh rubber much earlier had closed the gap to the McLaren’s meaning even a safety car would see him head the field at the restart.
With Lando Norris ahead of his team mate, he as is always the case was offered the first stop but he declined, suggesting his team mate get the first stop to protect him from Charles Leclerc who was closing also having fitted fresh rubber much earlier.
Norris offers his pit stop to Piastri
Oscar duly stopped next lap with McLaren delivering a rapid 1.9second stop for the Australian. Next it was Norris turn but a slow front left wheel change cost him four seconds more than his team mate. McLaren duly instructed Piastri to allow his team mate through as they sought to balance up the team’s mistake which favoured the Aussie.
The paddock response has been varied, with some suggesting McLaren were manipulating the racing, something which is not generally appreciated by the fans. In most sports such interference with a sporting result would be considered ‘match fixing’ which would be treated by the regulator in the most serious fashion.
For McLaren boss Andrea Stella the call was more than just championship arithmetic. “The pitstop situation is not only a matter of fairness, it’s a matter of consistency with our principles,” he told reporters. “However the championship goes, what’s important is that it runs within our racing values. We thought it was absolutely right to go back to the situation pre-existing the pitstops and then let the guys race.”
“Not bad for a number two?” Piastri told to move over at Monza
Oscar briefly objects to team order
Piastri, who questioned the call on team radio (“I mean, we said that a slow pit stop was part of racing, so I don’t really get what’s changed here”), complied nonetheless. He later admitted it was important to protect the whole team, including the pit crew, for long-term success.
Norris, who finished second to Max Verstappen with Piastri in third, agreed: “The team is number one, then the drivers are second. That’s how it works. Normally when you see teams who don’t respect the opportunities the team gives, success doesn’t last long. We want to be in this position for a longer period of time. The spirit of the team is priority, and we’re below that.”
While Stella emphasised McLaren’s “papaya rules” of fairness – principles shaped by lessons learned from last year’s Hungarian GP – not everyone was convinced.
Hamilton accused on reneging on promise to Leclerc
Wolff believes McLaren set a precedent
“There is no right and there is no wrong, but you set a precedent that is very difficult to undo,” Wolff told media including Motorsport Week. “What if the team makes another mistake and it’s not a pitstop? Do you switch them around again? Equally, because of a team mistake, making a driver lose points isn’t fair either. We’ll see towards the end of the season if that was the right decision.”
Sauber boss Jonathan Wheatley, by contrast, was impressed with how McLaren handled the situation. “They obviously talked about this before. They weren’t having a discussion in the race, so clearly it was something agreed on. I’ve been impressed with how they’ve managed two drivers fighting for the championship – they’ve learned hard lessons and look ahead of it.” Clearly the team had discussed this give Piastri’s reaction who revealed the result of the conversations was that a slow pit stop would not be considered enough for the team to issue orders to its drivers.
Yet the vital point missed pretty much by most paddock analysts was in fact Norris generosity in offering his team mate the first stop saved him from falling into the clutches of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver had stopped much earlier in the race as the McLaren’s began losing time quickly on the ageing medium compound Pirelli’s.
Piastri stopping second would have fallen behind Leclerc
He had closed the gap to Verstappen to around 19 seconds who in turn was around five seconds behind Piastri. As the pit stop cycle worked its way through, Piastri stopping first emerged
from his one and only stop of the race a mere 4.383 seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver. Of course should Oscar had stopped a lap later as the team planned, Leclerc would have been even closer and the faulty wheel gun would have seen the pair emerge side by side but with the Ferrari driver on warmer tyres should have had better grip for the battle on the brakes into turn one.
From this perspective which the team missed in its media briefings, the switch was an entirely fair thing to do as it was Norris who sacrificed the quick stop for the benefit of the team.
Verstappen over rules his engineers for Monza qualifying
McLaren internal communication black hole
The team failed to inform Piastri of Norris’ generosity meaning the Australian remained perplexed when answering questions in the media pen. Asked by Sky’s Rachel Brooks whether he had been told of Lando’s suggestion, Oscar was clearly in the dark from his quizzical look. He also referenced the “strange incident at the end” in his podium interview, although unlike in Silverstone and the Hungaroring the Australian appeared in good humour.
With eight races left, Piastri’s lead over Norris is now 31 points. Verstappen, 94 points adrift, is effectively out of the picture, leaving McLaren to manage a championship duel entirely in-house.
Whether Stella’s emphasis on values will hold in the heat of a title decider remains to be seen – especially if Wolff’s prediction of a precedent-setting headache proves correct.
MORE F1 NEWS – McLaren boss predicts “loss of sportsmanship”
Much has been written about the title fight now exclusively being fought out between the two McLaren drivers. Such duels in Formula One history have rarely ended well. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso battled for the drivers’ crown in 2007, but their on track antics handed the victory to Kimi Raikkonen and it remains the last Ferrari drivers championship.
Last year in Monza, the McLaren duo locked out the front row with Norris on pole, but an opportunistic moment into the second chicane on the opening lap saw Piastri wriggle past his team mate which opened the door for Charles Leclerc.
With the Monegasque now in prime position, he executed a one stop race to steal away the victory from the McLaren pair. The result was the first mention of the now infamous “papaya rules” which govern the way Piastri and Norris go racing….. READ MORE
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