PlanetF1.com Postbox: McLaren team order fallout, Verstappen’s title influence
McLaren's late re-establishing of positions was a hot topic of conversation on PlanetF1.com after the Italian Grand Prix.
The Italian Grand Prix brought about a dominant win from Max Verstappen, along with a slice of team orders from McLaren, which you had plenty to say about after the race.
Just a reminder that if you wanted to reach us directly, you can do so by emailing planetf1editor@planetsport.com, put ‘PF1 Postbox’ in the subject line, and we may feature your comments in future editions.
McLaren team orders criticised by the many, but still defended by a few
At time of writing, our poll on whether or not McLaren was right to switch Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris back again late on saw around 70% say no, 25% yes and the rest were unsure. You can add your response at the end of this piece:
Eleanor Rigby: The ONLY reason Norris allowed Piastri to put before him was to get one more lap with the possibility of an SC / VSC, so that he could inherit the lead with a cheap pitstop.
If he wants to roll that dice, fine, but then he has to accept the risk of an undercut for any reason whatsoever. Slow pitstop? Too bad. Waved double yellows? Too bad.
McLaren had absolutely NO right to ask Piastri to cede the place.
What happens in the final race of the season, say they’re tied on points, and Piastri’s in the lead and Mclaren screw his pitstop?? Should Lando cede the place and lose the champtionship??
Andrew Staines: Lando was conscious of Leclerc catching Oscar if Oscar had to wait till after Lando pitted. This is the only reason that that the order was considered, with out that there were no grounds for the switcharoo. I’m an Oscar fan and I agree it was the right call.
Leaf blowers are louder: Could you imagine Hunt, Lauda, Jones, Piquet, Keke, Prost, Senna, Mansell, Schumacher, complying like Piastri did? No way! Max’s bemused quip, when told about the position swap by his race engineer, says it all.
Nick D: I applaud McLaren for trying to invent a way for a team to have two number 1 drivers. But they’re botching it with inconsistency. At both Silverstone and Hungary, Piastri was clearly in the box seat to win. Then a stewards’ decision and team decision, respectively, screwed him.
The team had the option in both cases to reverse the drivers’ positions on the track, to restore fairness. They refused. Spare me the fairness stuff from the team today, at Silverstone Oscar was told to suck it up with the stewards’ call, it’s all racing. But Lando is told a botched pit stop is unfair and the team need to redress it.
More analysis of the Italian Grand Prix weekend
? The Italian Grand Prix proves race duration isn’t the key to making F1 exciting
# 44 Facts: After reviewing all of this, Piastri should have said no. But the fact is McLaren are screwing up a lot to put both Norris and Piastri in a difficult position. And after all of that and the big outrage under the fans, both drivers seems to be not bothered with it.
They always remain respectful to each other and have a friendly relationship, even they are both in the fight for the WDC. You can all see this in the videos after a GP weekend. It is something refreshing after the big tension between teammates fighting for the championship.
George Bascomb: I was not happy with the decision at the time but after the team’s explanation I am satisfied with their rationale.
This wasn’t a driver issue, it was an unfortunate pit crew issue and for that to make a difference would place a lot of unnecessary pressure on the crew and especially the crewmember that screwed up the tyre change.
Gsprings123: There was no need to do this….why penalize Oscar for a team fault?….every driver is at risk of a slow stop…if it happens it just happens.
Danny: A Champion would’ve told McLaren where to put that request. It’s not his job to fix their mistake.
Max Verstappen still has his part to play in the Drivers’ Championship
Super Dave Osborne: Verstappen still holding his own in the constructors.
Red Five: That was a vintage Verstappen win. When the track masks the issues with the car, we roll back to 2022/2023. He might be out of the title fight, but he is going to have a big role in it. Particularly as neither McLaren driver likes to race him.
Ex Pitlane Monkey: A very warm congratulations to Max and Red Bull, Max again reminding is all why he’s already one of the greats of the sport and I don’t have enough superlatives for him today.
Robert Legault: Verstappen had a great race
He had given his position back to Norris following the start, but have been able to overtake him 4 laps later
And having beat the McLaren by almost 20 secs, is a great achievement by the team
Hope that it will continue on other circuits. The WDC will be more interesting.
Harry Winters: What a demonstration of skills, in a lesser car!
There’s only one true World Champion, Max Verstappen.
Read next: McLaren warned of ‘very difficult precedent to undo’ by Toto Wolff
