At the Italian Grand Prix, McLaren faced a challenging decision when they instructed Oscar Piastri to relinquish the position he gained due to a slow pit stop by teammate Lando Norris. This move, part of the ongoing 2025 title fight, has sparked discussions about whether McLaren made the right call with their team orders. Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, joined Sky Sports F1 to share his perspective on the situation, backing McLaren’s choice while acknowledging its complexity.
Rosberg noted that deciding how to handle the drivers‘ positions during the closing laps at Monza was not straightforward for McLaren. After Norris lost time in the pits, Piastri inherited the lead, but the team reversed their positions, asking Piastri to let Norris pass. Rosberg believes this was ultimately the fair decision given Norris’ stronger performance over the weekend.
Rosberg emphasizes fairness despite the difficult nature of the team order
In the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Rosberg defended the team’s call, recognizing that opinions on the move remain divided. He observed that many would dislike the situation, while others would see the rationale behind the switch on lap 49.
“A lot of people will not like it, a lot of people will think it makes sense,” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
Rosberg expressed his preference for a thrilling championship and was satisfied that the points went to the driver he judged to have performed better.
“I was happy they did that because with my hat that I have on, I want a super-exciting Formula 1 championship until the very end.” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
“So, I was happy that in that case Lando had the opportunity to get the deserved points since he personally did a better job than Oscar in the Monza weekend.” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
Despite supporting the team’s decision, Rosberg admitted there was no perfectly correct path and that both options carried drawbacks.
“So, I thought it was good that they did that. But it’s impossible. There’s no right or wrong.” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
Rosberg understood that the order would have been a tough pill for Piastri to swallow, as the situation was unprecedented, and naturally drivers expect their pit stop performances to influence race outcomes.
“It’s a hard one because if you’re Oscar, it will drive you nuts because it’s never been done before and until then, I think internally, pit stop speed is part of racing,” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
He reflected on how pit stop differences have always been considered part of Formula 1 racing and usually shape results organically.
“If one guy‘s pit stop is a second slower and that results in a win, that’s always going to be part of racing historically. That’s always how it’s been.” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
Rosberg recognized Piastri’s likely disappointment but noted the driver had no choice once the team made the call.
“So, of course, in Oscar’s view, you would not like it very much. But he wasn’t given a choice. Once the team calls him out, he’s obliged to let him pass.” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
Regarding the team’s internal rules, Rosberg explained the difficulty in clearly codifying such scenarios because pit stop times inherently vary and influence racing fairness.
“It all depends how clearly it’s written down in the rules, but you cannot write something like that down in the rules because pit stop times are always a part of racing and the team cannot assure that everybody’s always going to have the same pit stop times. It’s just like, at which point is it really unfair? It’s really hard.”
“McLaren chose the better way, which was to redo the positions like before, because they messed up as a team and it’s not fair to get involved in that way into the Drivers’ Championship. So they took the route that was definitely better, but both routes were bad.” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
Reflecting on his own approach to team orders during championship battles
The rivalry between Piastri and Norris at McLaren marks the first intra-team championship battle in Formula 1 since Rosberg competed against Lewis Hamilton from 2014 to 2016. Rosberg recalled that period as far more intense and described how Mercedes implemented strict team orders, which he refers to as “silver rules.”
He was asked if, in Piastri’s position at Monza, he would have accepted such a team order to give up his position.
“We had very clear silver rules, not papaya rules, silver rules [that] if we risk losing the race win to a competitor, we need to work together as a team to secure the race win,” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
Rosberg recounted an incident at the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix where he was racing Hamilton for the championship, but had to concede a position to help the team secure victory, despite the personal challenge.
He recalled that the team clearly communicated the necessity of the swap to keep their race win intact, which made it difficult but clear to comply with.
“So the team, there’s a threat that we as a team are losing the race win. It’s clear. So the team comes on the radio and tells me, ‘you need to let Lewis pass because we might lose the race win here otherwise’.” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
“So I moved over and waved him past because it was clearly defined and, of course, it’s hard in the moment, but it’s then clear and easy to understand and you just got to do it.” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
Contrastingly, Rosberg noted that Hamilton did not comply with similar team orders in the 2016 Abu Dhabi finale, describing the competitive mindset as akin to “two assassins” trying to exploit as much advantage as possible.
“Lewis didn’t do it in Abu Dhabi, which was the same situation, but also that is understandable that you would then. If you’re an assassin, you want to try and maximise the grey areas.” —Nico Rosberg, 2016 world champion
Looking ahead to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Formula 1 will continue its season with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, scheduled for September 19-21 and broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Fans can also stream races with no contract on NOW, offering access to ongoing championship battles like the tension between McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
