The team order from McLaren in the final stages of the Italian GP in Monza has also fallen badly with former driver David Coulthard. The Scot, now an F1 analyst at Viaplay, feels that the decision of the team management to let Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri switch positions feels uncomfortable. “This feels a bit like manipulation, manipulating the result, and that feels uncomfortable.”
The cause of all the uproar was the moment when Norris lost his second position in the race to Piastri after a slow pit stop. The Australian was then told over the team radio that he had to let Norris pass again.
Coulthard on this: “They judged that Norris was disadvantaged by the team, not by anything Piastri had done on the track. It’s within the rules of course, but this feels for the drivers as if it’s being taken out of their hands. As a driver, you want to win races or achieve a result because you are the strongest. You don’t want results handed to you.”
