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McLaren have been determined to keep the fight between their two drivers as fair as possible but their approach was always likely to lead to controversy at some point.<\/p>\n
That was certainly the case at Monza, as they interfered after the sort of twist of fate that often turns driver’s races.<\/p>\n
Norris unquestionably deserved the second place on the balance of the race, but his pit stop problem left the team with an agonising quandary.<\/p>\n
It is normal practice to pit the lead driver first in such a scenario but McLaren decided they wanted to pit Piastri first, saying they made the decision to ensure he was clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who had pitted earlier on a conventional strategy.<\/p>\n
Norris questioned it when told of the decision, saying he was fine “as long as there was no undercut”, which would be him being passed by Piastri going faster on his out lap. He was assured there would be no such thing.<\/p>\n
Piastri’s stop was faultless at 1.9 seconds but Norris’s front right wheel gun had a problem and his stop was 5.9, so Piastri was in the lead when Norris re-emerged on to the track.<\/p>\n
Piastri was immediately told to let Norris back past. His engineer Tom Stallard said: “Oscar, this is a bit like Hungary last year. We pitted in this order for team reasons. Please let Lando past and then you are free to race.”<\/p>\n
Piastri replied: “I mean, we said a slow pit stop was part of racing, so I don’t really get what’s changed here. But if you really want me to do it, then I’ll do it.”<\/p>\n
After the race, Norris said: “Every now and again we make mistakes as a team. Today was one of them.”<\/p>\n
The point of view of both drivers is understandable, and it will be interesting to see how McLaren manage this in the increasing tension of a title fight.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Sky Sports later, Piastri was accepting of the decision, saying: “The decision to swap back was fair. Lando was ahead of me the whole race. I don’t have any issues with that.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n