Piastri Prioritizes Long-Term Success over the Title Battle
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. The driver is in intense competition with his teammate, Lando Norris, for the drivers’ crown. Piastri saw his lead reduced to 31 points after complying with a controversial team order at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend. The McLaren team asked Piastri to concede second position to his teammate after a delay in Norris’s tire change during a late pit stop, which allowed Piastri to overtake Norris on the track. This team order generated doubts about McLaren’s possible interference in the battle for the championship and whether Piastri should have ignored the team’s instructions and secured second place. In an exclusive interview, Piastri stated that constructive conversations have already been held regarding the Monza incident and that he fully trusts the way McLaren is handling the situation.
Piastri added: “And ultimately, I want to protect that because I can’t have my own success without the team having success. So protecting that is something 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 replied: “Not at the cost of future success. Definitely not.” In addition to Norris’ slow pit stop, the Monza incident was further complicated because McLaren had their drivers pit outside their usual sequence to defend Piastri’s third position from the threat of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, which was in fourth place. Norris even suggested by radio to the team that Piastri should 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 position and fall behind Piastri when he exited the pits. When his race engineer, Tom Stallard, first asked him to concede position, Piastri appeared to question whether Norris’ slow pit stop was sufficient reason to swap the cars. Piastri said on the radio to the team: “We said a slow pit stop was part of racing. I really don’t understand what has 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 on 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.”“We’ve had very good conversations this week about what happened and what can be clarified, what can be improved,” Piastri stated. “That’s always a learning process, I suppose. But yes, ultimately, I know the team will have my best interests at heart.”
Oscar Piastri
