Oscar Piastri reveals McLaren talks and what he won’t do in F1 title fight

Oscar Piastri has revealed McLaren have already held “very good discussions” about their controversial driver swap at the Italian Grand Prix.

McLaren made headlines in Monza by instructing Piastri to concede second place to teammate and championship rival Lando Norris late in the race after the Briton suffered a slow pit stop which dropped him behind Piastri.

Piastri initially questioned the team order but obliged and finished third as he saw his championship lead over Norris cut down to 31 points with eight races remaining to determine the outcome of this year’s title fight.

After the race, both McLaren drivers felt the swap had been fair but said the matter would be discussed further behind closed doors.

Speaking to ESPN, Piastri has shed some light on the talks which have already taken place and the learnings which can be taken moving forwards.

"We have had very good discussions this week about what went on and what can be made clearer, what can be improved," Piastri said.

"That's always kind of a learning process, I guess. But yeah, ultimately I know that the team would have my best interests at heart.

"And ultimately, I want to protect that because I can't have my own success without the team having success. So protecting that is a very important thing for me.”

Asked if he will consider a more ruthless approach to seal the world championship, Piastri replied: “Not at the cost of future success. Definitely not.”

Warnings for McLaren

McLaren’s decision has divided opinion in the F1 paddock and led to several warnings from observers.

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, who has experience managing a fierce intra-team title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, said McLaren have set a “very difficult precedent to undo”.

"There is no right and there is no wrong, and I'm curious to see how that pans out," Wolff said. "You set a precedent that is very difficult to undo.

"What if the team does another mistake and it's not a pitstop... do you switch them around? But then equally, because of a team mistake, making a driver that is trying to catch up lose the points is not fair either.

"So, I think we are going to get our response of whether that was right today towards the end of the season when it heats up."