Lando Norris kept his championship hopes alive in dramatic fashion at Monza, thanks to a contentious team order from McLaren. After a slow pit-stop threatened to derail his race, Norris found himself trailing teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri in the final stages. Yet, with just four laps remaining, McLaren instructed Piastri to let Norris pass—an order the Australian reluctantly obeyed.
This strategic swap came after Norris suffered a 5.9-second delay during his tire change on lap 47, losing track position to Piastri, who had pitted earlier and overtaken Charles Leclerc. Piastri expressed frustration on team radio, highlighting the inconsistency since slow pit-stops were previously accepted as part of racing. However, McLaren prioritized Norris’s championship bid, narrowing the points gap between the two teammates from 34 to 31 with eight races left in the season.
Race winner Max Verstappen, who finished a dominant 19.2 seconds ahead of Norris, found the team’s decision amusing. “Just because of a slow pit stop?” the Red Bull driver laughed upon hearing of the swap. Verstappen’s victory marks his first since Imola on May 18 and demonstrates his continued supremacy in the championship.
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The Italian Grand Prix began intensely, with Norris challenging Verstappen aggressively off the start line. In a high-speed battle to the first chicane, Norris briefly forced Verstappen off-track, prompting a radio exchange between the drivers and a team directive for Verstappen to yield temporarily to avoid a stewards’ investigation. Norris assumed the lead on lap two, only for Verstappen to retake it by lap four and maintain control for the remainder of the race.
Behind the leading trio, Charles Leclerc secured fourth for Ferrari, while Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth respectively. Hamilton’s recovery from a grid penalty underscored his resilience, climbing four places despite starting tenth.
Norris acknowledged his pit stop mistake candidly: “I felt like I was there for quite a long time, but every now and then we make mistakes and today was one of them.” Meanwhile, Piastri accepted the team’s decision with a wry smile, referring to the situation as “a little incident at the end, but it was okay.”
As the season intensifies, McLaren’s internal dynamics and strategic calls will play a pivotal role in shaping the battle between Norris and Piastri. For now, Norris has successfully cut into his teammate’s championship lead, setting the stage for a gripping conclusion to the Formula 1 campaign.