McLaren accused of “manipulating” Italian GP after team orders call

Ex-F1 driver David Coulthard has accused McLaren of “manipulating” the Italian Grand Prix with their late team orders call.

With McLaren the clear second-best team at Monza, attention in the final laps was on the battle for second.

Oscar Piastri was running three seconds behind his teammate Lando Norris.

Usually, the car ahead - Norris - gets to pit first to ensure they’re not undercut by the driver behind.

Norris suggested pitting Piastri first to ensure he maintained track position ahead of Charles Leclerc in fourth.

Piastri’s pit stop went to plan, but a slow stop for Norris meant he dropped behind his F1 title rival, even though he was assured there was no undercut threat.

To make things fair, Piastri was instructed to let Norris by as it was the team’s mistake, not Norris’.

McLaren’s decision has been questioned by many because it’s a precedent that will be potentially difficult to uphold.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said McLaren have “set a precedent that is very difficult to undo”.

Max Verstappen also hinted that he wouldn’t have let Norris back through had he been in Piastri’s position.

The four-time world champion was amused to hear what was happening at McLaren in a radio exchange with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.

In 2022, Verstappen had wrapped up the drivers’ title, but refused to let Sergio Perez through to aid him in his battle with Leclerc for P2 in the standings.

Coulthard “uncomfortable” after McLaren call

Coulthard, who won 13 races for McLaren in F1, feels that Norris’ slow pit stop is just part of racing.

Whether it’s a mistake, a reliability gremlin or a slow pit stop, that’s just how F1 is.

Speaking after the race on Channel 4, Coulthard said: “So you can see the wheel gun went on. The wheel gun came off. They weren’t sure.

“He went back on again. And they get a sequence of lights to tell them that everything has been seated properly. There was just a hesitation, a rare mistake, given that you just highlighted the brilliant stop they did for Oscar. This is just racing.

“They obviously felt that the race was neutralised with Lando having the advantage coming into the pit stop.

“They feel that he’s been disadvantaged because of the team, not because of something that Oscar has done on track, and then they’ve asked him to make the switch.

“On one hand, I get it, because they’ve been playing that card since last year.
They focus on trying to win the constructors’ championship.

“Inside the racer and inside the little boy that grew up a fan of the sport, I want to see racing wheel to wheel. And yes, sometimes engines will blow up. Yes, sometimes you’ll get involved in an incident.

“This just feels a little bit manipulating, manipulating the result, and that feels uncomfortable, I have to say.

“But it’s within the rules, and it’s McLaren, right. And look, they’re going to win the constructors’ and the drivers’ championship this year, but this just feels like it should be left for them to go about it.”