Oscar Piastri has played the part of honourable team man, disguising his initial dismay over his McLaren bosses ordering him to let Lando Norris overtake him at the Italian Grand Prix and reduce his world championship lead.
On an afternoon when Max Verstappen dominated the fastest grand prix of all time to win by 19.2 seconds in his Red Bull, his victory was overshadowed by the team-orders drama featuring the two title-chasing McLaren drivers.
Piastri was ordered to let nearest challenger Norris past in the dying stages after the Englishman had suffered a slow pit-stop because of a wheel-gun mistake in Sunday’s (Monday AEST) race.
Norris had been set to finish a comfortable runner-up, and had agreed to pit before his teammate with seven laps remaining, being assured he wouldn’t be undercut.
But he came out behind Piastri after the botched stop cost him nearly six seconds, only for the Australian to be ordered by McLaren to move aside, which he did on the 49th lap of 53.
Piastri clearly wasn’t happy. ‘We said that a slow pit-stop was part of racing, so I don’t really get what changed here – but I will do it,’ he grumbled over the team radio.
A terse Oscar Piastri raises the trophy for third place after team instructions to let Lando Norris pass and take second
Aussie F1 fans have questioned whether McLaren’s bosses are conspiring to get Norris to beat Piastri to the world title
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (pictured rightm talking with Piastri) finished first ahead of the McLaren drivers
Little wonder. The move allowed Norris to retake second place to Piastri’s third, with the Englishman reducing the gap in the championship race from 34 points to 31.
If he had finished second, Piastri would have been 37 points clear.
Fans were also left fuming, accusing McLaren of conspiring to elevate Norris over Piastri.
‘When will McLaren simply ask Oscar to hand Norris the championship?’ one asked on social media.
‘Any other sport it would have been match fixing. Since when do you rig the result?’ questioned another.
Several fans likened the incident to match fixing, with another one raging on social media: ‘Manufactured results. Sometimes you have bad luck, sometimes good luck. Let the drivers fight it out on the track. It’s basically match fixing telling the drivers what position they should finish in.’
‘So glad the rest of the teams are now laughing at the obvious favouritism, McLaren are a joke,’ fumed another fan.
‘At least Oscar can say he has won every single point on pure skill alone. Unlike Lando who will forever know he had his points given to him on a silver platter,’ posted another.
However, others lashed out at the angry fans and said there was no conspiracy theory to push Norris ahead at play.
Piastri was praised by F1 fans for his classy response to the decision made by McLaren, but he was initially fuming on the track
Piastri still holds a 31-point lead over Norris as the pair remain the only realistic contenders to win the world drivers’ championship
Piastri (pictured leading Charles Leclerc at Monza) said there was more at play in the long-term results involving himself and Norris
‘So many conspiracy theorists on here, it’s amazing … There is no conspiracy here! Before you ask, I’m an Aussie and want OP to win the championship,’ one supporter posted.
Later, after receiving congratulations from team principal Andrea Stella for acceding without fuss to the team’s request, a reflective Piastri declared: ‘I think today was a fair request.
‘Lando qualified ahead, was ahead the whole race, and lost the spot through no fault of his own. So, I said what I had to say on the radio and once I got the second request, I’m not going against the team.
‘There’s a lot of people to protect and a culture to protect outside of just Lando and I. Ultimately that’s a very important thing going forward.’
It was an admirable public stance from the 24-year-old, and one that won over many fans.
Former Socceroo Craig Foster led the chorus of support for Piastri and the class he showed after the incident.
‘Oscar Piastri is a class act. Committed to his team, and despite being ahead and dreaming of a world title, prepared to abide by orders that directly affects his personal ambitions,’ Foster said.
‘It doesn’t appear that the rules are very clear, however, including to Oscar. The Australian should not have to both fight the field, and his own team, to win.’
Plenty of fans agreed, with one posting: ‘Piastri is one cool cat, took it like the champ he is.’
‘Piastri is so calm, collected and mature. A really likeable guy. I hope he wins the WDC this year. He deserves to,’ posted another.
Norris, who’d had more bad luck last week when suffering a mechanical retirement in Zandvoort, said it would have been different if the pit-lane mistake had been his own.
‘If I came flat-out into my box and hit all my mechanics out of the way, I also don’t expect to get the position back, but today was out of my control,’ he said, suggesting he would have taken the same action as Piastri.
There was no arguing about the winner, though, as Verstappen won only his third race of the season – and his first since May – a day after setting a new lap record at Monza in qualifying.
His average speed on Sunday, as he enjoyed the 66th win of his career, was an all-time record 250.706kph around the ‘Temple of Speed’.
Typically, he found the McLaren discomfort quite amusing. ‘Just because of a slow pit-stop?’ he laughed over the radio when informed the pair had traded positions.
The only drama for him occurred on a chaotic first corner when Norris had to divert on to the grass as he tried to get past pole sitter Verstappen, who was also forced to cut the corner.
It left Norris spluttering: ‘What’s this idiot doing?’ and by the second lap he was in front after Verstappen let him past. The Dutchman, though, burst past on lap four and never looked back.
Piastri, starting third on the grid, enjoyed an early ding-dong with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, losing his spot briefly before responding with a neat overtake.
Leclerc ended up fourth, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, while Lewis Hamilton made up four places from 10th – after he served a five-place grid penalty – to finish sixth.
