'Things to discuss,' Oscar Piastri gives subtle hints of tensions over Lando Norris position swap at Italian GP

The Italian GP was a difficult outing for McLaren. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris did not have the pace to really challenge Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver went on to take the fastest win in F1 history at Monza. However, the Woking-based squad found itself at the center of controversy after issuing team orders during the race. Now, Piastri has asserted that the team will have a chat following the Grand Prix.

During the Italian GP, Lando Norris was in second place, with Oscar Piastri in P3. After the round of pitstops, an error during Norris’ stop pushed him behind Piastri. The McLaren pitwall decided to instruct the Australian driver to give up the position to his teammate. It seemed that the British team wanted the title fight to be fair between the two drivers.

At first, Oscar Piastri seemed reluctant to willingly give up the position. The 24-year-old highlighted that he had nothing to do with the poor stop. Nevertheless, Piastri budged and played the team game. This allowed Norris to finish in P2, bringing his points gap down to 31 points.

Oscar Piastri admitted that the team order was not unfair, considering the circumstances. However, the Australian driver declared that he has a few things to discuss with the team soon, hinting that the racing situations need to be clear from the next time. Now, the championship leader was shifting his focus to the next race in Baku.

In terms of the call to swap, ultimately, it was fair. We have things to discuss, as we always do with these sorts of racing situations. It’s now time to refocus ahead of Baku.

Oscar Piastri said, as quoted by RacingNews365