McLaren issued a controversial team order when Oscar Piastri was asked to move aside for Lando Norris after a slow pit stop for the Brit late in the Italian Grand Prix
Lando Norris was on the receiving end of a smattering of boos as he stepped onto the podium after McLaren team orders controversy marred the conclusion of the Italian Grand Prix. The Monza race was won by Max Verstappen who put in a controlled performance to take his first victory since May.
But, behind him, there was late drama as Norris suffered a slow pit stop, after he had told McLaren to pit Oscar Piastri first, which led to the Brit coming back out on track behind his team-mate and Formula 1 title rival.
It looked like he was set to lose more ground to his championship rival. But then came the message to Piastri over the radio from his race engineer, who said: “It’s a bit like Hungary last year, we pitted in this order for team reasons so please let Lando past, and then you are free to race.”
Initially, it looked as though the Australian was going to put up a fight. He replied: “I mean, we said that a slow pit stop was part of racing so I don’t really get what changed here? But I will do it.”
He did comply, much to the amusement of Verstappen ahead who, when informed by his engineer of what had happened behind him, could not hide his amusement as he laughed and replied with no small amount of incredulity: “Just because he had a slow pit stop?”
The incident did not go down well with some fans at the circuit. As Norris stepped onto the podium, a smattering of boos could be heard from those voicing their displeasure over how the finishing order of the top three had been decided.
READ MORE: Lando Norris fumes at ‘idiot’ Max Verstappen after dramatic start to Italian Grand PrixREAD MORE: Martin Brundle cuts Monza grid walk interview short and calls ex-F1 star ‘horrible man’
Piastri was characteristically calm about it as he picked up the microphone for his post-race interview, referring to what happened as “a little incident” as he wore a wry smile. And Norris did not reference the team order as he reflected on the pit stop that almost put another dent in his title chase.
The Brit said: “I felt like I was there for quite a long time. Every now and then we make mistakes as a team and today was one of them. I did everything I could today. I could not do a lot more. I could not fight against Max. They came out on top and deserved it. I just need to keep doing what I am doing.”
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The six-point swing as a result of the team order saw Norris narrow the gap slightly to his team-mate. Piastri still has a fairly healthy lead in the championship, 31 points ahead of the Brit with eight rounds still to go.
Verstappen’s third victory of the year brought him back to within 100 points of the leader, but still only a remarkable McLaren collapse would lead to a situation in which the Dutchman has a realistic shot at winning a fifth consecutive drivers’ title.