Max Verstappen Mocks McLaren’s Team Orders over Botched Lando Norris Pitstop at Italian GP

Max Verstappen returned to the top step of the podium at the Italian GP. The reigning world champion pulled off a dominant performance while his McLaren rivals faced tensions during the race. The Woking-based squad implemented team orders for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after the round of pitstops. Now, Verstappen has taken a dig at the British squad.

During the Italian GP, Lando Norris was in second-place, with a comfortable gap to Oscar Piastri in P3. However, Piastri managed to undercut the Briton after the latter had a slow pitstop with an issue with the front left tire. McLaren ultimately decided to instruct the Australian to give the position back to Norris to keep a fair fight for the title. Though, Piastri was not really happy after the race.

Max Verstappen was informed about this position swap during the race. The 27-year-old even laughed on the team radio over McLaren’s decision.

After the race, Max Verstappen pointed out that a bad pitstop was just part of racing, similar to an engine failure or w driver mistake. The four-time world champion saw no reason for McLaren to demand Piastri to swap position. He admitted that the whole situation was quite amusing and gave him a good laugh.

From my side.. a bad pitstop can happen, the same way an engine can break, or if you make a mistake on your own.. that is just part of racing. So yeah, I had to laugh a little that he had to give the position back. I’ll leave it there.

Max Verstappen told Viaplay