The executive director of Mercedes Formula 1, Toto Wolff, believes that McLaren’s choice to instruct Oscar Piastri to allow Lando Norris to overtake him during the Italian Grand Prix, following a problematic pit stop for Norris, establishes “a precedent that will be very hard to reverse”.
With Norris and Piastri poised to secure second and third positions, respectively, behind the undisputed victor, Max Verstappen, McLaren strategically called Piastri in for his sole pit stop ahead of Norris. This move was intended to fortify Norris’s lead over Charles Leclerc, who was in fourth place.
However, a sluggish pit stop for Norris resulted in him trailing behind his teammate and championship contender, Piastri. Given that Piastri had been given pit stop precedence, McLaren then controversially directed the perplexed Australian to cede his position back to Norris.
McLaren justified its decision by pointing to a similar team order scenario from the previous year’s Hungarian Grand Prix, where Piastri had lost ground due to Norris’s effective undercut. Nonetheless, Wolff suggests that McLaren’s action at Monza has now instituted a novel standard.
“There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer here, and I am interested in observing how this plays out,” Wolff commented. “A precedent has been set that will be very difficult to move away from.”
“Consider a scenario where the team makes another misjudgment, unrelated to a pit stop… would they then swap their positions again? On the other hand, it is also unfair for a driver striving to gain ground to forfeit points because of a team’s error.”
“Therefore, I anticipate that we will see the ramifications of today’s decision unfold as the season progresses and the competition intensifies.”
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
The chief executive of the Sauber team, Jonathan Wheatley, further stated: “They would undoubtedly have discussed their racing strategy, and I presume they agreed that positions would be exchanged if there was a team-related error.”
“It is apparent that they assimilated several difficult lessons from the previous year. I am highly impressed with their management of the two drivers competing for the championship this year; they seem to be well ahead of the curve.”
“Their discussion did not occur during the race itself, suggesting it was a topic they had addressed beforehand.”
