Piastri Prioritizes Long-Term Success with McLaren over the Title Battle
Pilot Oscar Piastri has made it clear that he will not adopt a more aggressive approach in the fight for this year’s championship if that compromises his long-term success with McLaren.
Piastri is in a fierce competition with his teammate, Lando Norris, for this year’s drivers’ crown. His lead was reduced to 31 points after complying with a controversial team order at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
McLaren’s team order instructed Piastri to concede second place to his teammate after a delay in Norris’s tire change during a late pit stop allowed Piastri to overtake him on the track.
This decision raised questions about McLaren’s possible interference in the battle for the championship and whether Piastri should have ignored the order and secured second place.
In an interview, Piastri revealed that constructive conversations have already been held regarding the Monza incident and that he fully trusts McLaren’s handling of the situation.Oscar Piastri (left) wants to secure the success of the McLaren team in the fight for this year’s title.“We’ve had some really good discussions this week about what happened and what can be clarified, what can be improved,” Piastri said. “That’s always a learning process, I suppose. But yes, ultimately, I know the team will have my best interests at heart.”
“And, ultimately, I want to protect that because I can’t have my own success without the team succeeding. So protecting that is very important to me.”
When asked if he would adopt a more ruthless approach in the remaining eight races to ensure he is crowned champion, Piastri added: “Not at the cost of future success. Definitely not.”
In addition to Norris’ slow pit stop, the Monza incident was further complicated because McLaren pitted their drivers out of their usual sequence to defend Piastri’s third position from the threat of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari in fourth place.
Norris even suggested via team radio that Piastri pit before him, but only with the understanding that his teammate would not gain a position with the “undercut” advantage of changing to new tires one lap earlier.
McLaren changed Piastri’s tires in 1.9 seconds on lap 45, the fastest pit stop by any team this season, while Norris’s stop took 5.9 seconds on lap 46, which caused him to drop to third place and behind Piastri when he left the pits.
When his race engineer, Tom Stallard, first asked him to concede the position, Piastri seemed to question whether Norris’s slow pit stop was a valid enough reason to swap the cars.
“We said a slow pit stop was part of racing,” Piastri said over the team radio. “I really don’t understand what changed here… But if you want me to do it, I will.”
However, when Piastri heard Stallard repeat the order, he said he felt compelled to comply with the team’s wishes.
“I think at the time, obviously, I questioned it over the radio as racing drivers tend to do and as we’re encouraged to do,” explained Piastri. “But I think, for me, once I had the second request, at that point I’m always going to respect that call.”
