Oscar Piastri confirmed that McLaren has provided clarity on their racing protocols after the dramatic teammate swap incident with Lando Norris at the Italian Grand Prix. The discussion comes as the team prepares for the next race, with renewed focus on their championship battle.
The Italian GP put McLaren’s internal ‘papaya rules’ under the spotlight, particularly when Norris experienced a slow pit stop while running second. This delay allowed Piastri, who had a smooth stop a lap earlier, to overtake him on track. McLaren swiftly instructed Piastri to relinquish the position, restoring the original order behind race leader Max Verstappen, who dominated comfortably for Red Bull. Norris’s regained place reduced Piastri’s championship lead to 31 points.
Team Leadership Reacts and Plans Ahead of Baku
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, promised a thorough review of the incident before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, aiming to prevent such confusion from recurring. Speaking at the Drivers’ Press Conference ahead of the Azerbaijan race weekend, Piastri said that ongoing discussions with the team had resolved key issues affecting their approach to racing.
We’ve had good discussions with the team. It was obviously a highly talked about moment,
Piastri stated.
“We have clarified a lot of things and we know how we are going to go racing, going forward which is the most important thing.”
What’s happened is done and I’m excited to go racing again.
Maintaining Strategic Secrecy on Racing Tactics
Despite acknowledging thorough conversations about how to handle racing between teammates, Piastri chose to withhold specific details of the new guidelines. He stressed the necessity of keeping some tactics confidential to avoid becoming predictable on track.
“I think we’ve had a lot of discussions about how we want to go racing and a lot of that is to stay for us because, ultimately, if we give out that information, we will become very easy targets to pick off because everyone knows what we will do.”
That’s all very aligned with all of us but stays in-house.
Piastri Explains Reasoning Behind Position Swap at Monza
Piastri offered insight into the events at Monza that led to the team order. Initially questioning the instruction to give Norris back the position, he remarked that a slow pit stop should be considered part of racing.
We said a slow pit stop was part of racing, so I don’t really get what’s changed here.
However, he later elaborated that the decision was influenced not only by Norris’s slow stop but also by the unusual pit stop sequence McLaren employed, where the car running second was serviced before the lead car. This unconventional order contributed to the need for the position swap.
For Monza, there was another factor outside of the slow pit stop being the order we pitted in,
Piastri explained.
That was a contributing factor to why we swapped.
Reflecting on his radio message during the race, Piastri reaffirmed his view of pit stop delays as part of racing but acknowledged he lacked full context at the moment about the strategic pit stop order.
“Obviously, in the car at the time, the context wasn’t there about what else had happened in terms of the pit stop sequencing.”
Again, it was decided that there was another factor for the reasoning in swapping. Every situation is going to look a bit different.
Upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix Schedule on Sky Sports F1
The Formula 1 season continues this weekend with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. The event features a packed schedule starting with Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions, followed by sprint and feature races across the weekend.
Friday’s action begins with F2 Practice at 6:55 a.m., then Azerbaijan GP Practice One at 9 a.m., and culminates in F2 Qualifying and team principal press conferences.
Saturday offers a third GP practice session, the F2 Sprint Race, and the all-important Azerbaijan GP Qualifying.
Race day on Sunday starts with the F2 Feature Race before building up to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at noon, with post-race analysis continuing into the afternoon.
All live coverage is also accessible via Sky Sports’ NOW streaming service, which offers flexible viewing without contract commitments.
Implications for McLaren’s Championship Prospects
This clarity on McLaren’s internal racing policy comes at a crucial point as Piastri and Norris continue battling for the drivers’ championship. The adjustments and lessons learned from the Italian GP incident could influence team dynamics and strategies in upcoming races, especially at Baku where track position and pit timing are critical.
Maintaining harmony between teammates while maximizing team results remains a delicate balance for McLaren, especially with Red Bull and Max Verstappen demonstrating dominant pace this season. How the team navigates these challenges will shape their title hopes moving forward.
