Piastri Asserts Unity at McLaren After Team Orders in Monza
Oscar Piastri, McLaren driver, has stated that the team is “very aligned” on how they will approach the remaining races of the season, after the controversy generated by the team orders in the Italian Grand Prix. In Monza, Piastri, who leads the championship, was instructed to concede second place to his teammate, Lando Norris, after having gained the position due to confusion in the pit stops. Before this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Piastri, who leads Norris by 31 points in the drivers’ standings, stated that the team order was widely discussed and that several scenarios for the future were clarified.Piastri added that these internal discussions are crucial to prevent other teams from taking advantage of the information. “We know how we are going to race in the future, which is the most important thing. What happened is already done and I am excited to race again,” he commented. The driver emphasized that the decision to swap positions was not related to Norris’ slow pit stop, but to the sequence of pit stops. McLaren explained after the race that they pitted Piastri first due to the threat from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, and the Australian driver confirmed that a slow stop alone for Norris would not have resulted in a position swap.Naturally, there have been reflections on the matter. We’ve had good conversations with the team. Obviously, it was a much-discussed moment.
Oscar Piastri
Piastri indicated that an identical situation in any of the remaining races would lead to the same team order, but believes it is unlikely to be repeated. Piastri believes that the team’s internal rules still allow enough freedom for the outcome of this year’s title to be decided on the track between the two teammates. “I feel that many fans are quick to judge things that are considered controversial. I’m not surprised, but I think we have enough freedom to control our own destiny in the championship,” Piastri concluded.That’s a decision we made, that a slow stop is part of racing. Obviously, in the car at that moment, the context of what had happened in terms of the sequence of pit stops was not understood, so it was decided that there was another factor for the reason for the exchange. Each situation will be a little different.
Oscar Piastri
