McLaren's Controversial Team Order Swaps P2 at Italian GP

Why it matters:

McLaren's controversial team orders at the Italian Grand Prix created a stir, overshadowing an otherwise impressive performance from the team. The decision to swap positions between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after a pitstop error sparked debate about fairness and championship implications.

The details:

Max Verstappen secured a dominant win at the 2025 Italian Grand Prix, but the battle for second place was decided by internal team directives at McLaren. With seven laps remaining, Lando Norris suffered a slow 5.9-second pitstop due to a front wheel issue. This allowed his teammate, Oscar Piastri, who had pitted a lap earlier, to undercut Norris – an unplanned outcome.

The Woking-based team promptly instructed both drivers to swap positions, promoting Norris back to second place behind Verstappen. This move immediately drew comparisons to last year's Hungarian Grand Prix team orders.

• Piastri's frustration: Piastri reacted angrily over the radio, stating, "I mean, we said that a slow pitstop was part of racing, so I don't really get what's changed here." Despite his frustration, he complied with the order.
• Norris's silence: Norris offered no verbal response after his race engineer Will Joseph apologized for the pitstop error over the team radio.
• Verstappen's reaction: Informed of the situation by his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, Verstappen responded with surprise: "Ha! Just because he had a slow stop?" Lambiase then advised him to focus on his own race, noting it was for championship fairness.

What Norris said:

After the race, Norris reflected on the incident, acknowledging the team's mistake. "No idea [with the pitstop]. I felt like I was there quite a long time. Every now and then we make mistakes as a team and today was one of them," he commented. He added, "I did everything I could today. I couldn't do a lot more. I tried to fight against Max. We had a good race and he came out on top."

The big picture:

This incident highlights the delicate balance teams face in managing driver rivalries and championship aspirations, especially when errors occur during a race. McLaren's swift intervention aimed to restore the intended order, but not without raising questions about sportsmanship and the 'racing incident' philosophy.