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Oscar Piastri Takes Subtle Dig at McLaren over Team Orders for Lando Norris at Italian GP

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Aditya Pandya | Last updated Sep 7, 2025 1:34 PM ET

McLaren was unable to emerge victorious at the Italian GP despite enjoying a season of utter dominance in 2025. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri fell short against Max Verstappen, who went on the achieve the fastest win in the history of Formula 1. Moreover, Woking made a blunder with Norris’ pit-stop as they had to force Piastri to give the runner-up finish to the former at the end of the race.

Lando Norris could only qualify in P2 after Max Verstappen set the fastest lap ever in the history of Formula 1. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri ran the entire race in P3 and couldn’t quite overtake his teammate. However, in a late-race pitstop, Norris suffered from a botched pit as he lost the P2 spot to Piastri. While the Aussie should have finished in the second spot, McLaren intervened and forced him to cede positions.

As such, Oscar Piastri takes a subtle dig at the team and the team orders at the Italian GP. Piastri pointed out that he was staying out on the track for longer than required in hopes of a safety car. However, as depicted by the events, there was no need for a safety car as Max Verstappen ultimately got into the pit window of McLaren. Moreover, the Aussie berated the little incident towards the end of the race with Lando Norris and his pitstop, as it was yet another point of reckoning for the squad.

We were staying out for Safety Cars if there were any, but Max got back into our pit window and the little inch-ident at the end but it is okay.
Oscar Piastri said in a post-race interview

Oscar Piastri asserted that he took in plenty of learnings from the Italian GP and walked out of the race weekend with decent results. Piastri pointed out that he was happy to move on from the race weekend and prepare for the upcoming race at the Azerbaijan GP. The 24-year-old insisted that he would try to be better in the coming races and hold onto his championship lead.

Plenty to learn, happy going forwards and we’ll try and be better next weekend.
Oscar Piastri added

Oscar Piastri: We were staying out for Safety Cars if there were any, but Max got back into our pit window and the little inch-ident at the end but it is okay.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) September 7, 2025

Oscar Piastri admits not having the ‘best of performances’ at Italian GP

Oscar Piastri’s woes began early, as his P3 qualifying spot meant that he was on the back foot of trumping Max Verstappen and Lando Norris for the race win. Piastri’s race start was insignificant as well, since he lost his position to Charles Leclerc and had to fight hard for a couple of laps before regaining the position. Hence, the 24-year-old accepted his shortcomings in Monza.

Oscar Piastri accepted that he had a difficult beginning to the Italian GP, and noted that they weren’t the best of the laps from him. After overtaking Charles Leclerc on track, Piastri insisted that he had a lonely time on the track and couldn’t overtake anyone else. The championship leader emphasized that he was delighted with a P3 finish and was happy to score whatever points he could.

Difficult beginning, maybe not my best couple of laps. Once I got past, a pretty lonely race from there. Happy with the points, I’ll take it.
Oscar Piastri noted

McLaren will aim to bounce back at the upcoming Azerbaijan GP and emerge as a winning force by then. Max Verstappen is not going to make life any easier for either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri in the remainder of the season. With just eight races to go, the front of the pack looks promising for an enticing battle by the end of the 2025 season.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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