McLaren will conduct an internal review of the dispute between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the Italian Grand Prix, after the two team-mates lost ground to Max Verstappen while squabbling between themselves. The team principal, Andrea Stella, stated that the squad will still assess whether the situation could have been handled differently.
Verstappen managed to overtake both McLaren drivers with a different strategy, but Norris and Piastri stayed close to the Dutchman in their bid to reach the podium. The intra-team duel, however, allowed Verstappen to gain an advantage, with Norris finishing fourth, ahead of Piastri.
Stella explained that McLaren chose not to interfere, because the two cars were in equivalent conditions: “The two cars were on the same tires, with the same age of tires and were the same cars. So we thought there was no need to interfere with the normal development of the race and let them contest,” the team leader said.
According to Stella, Verstappen also had a higher pace, but ended up entangled in Monza’s specific dynamic, where losing tow can require energy to defend against another driver. Still, the executive acknowledged that the team must assess whether there was a better approach for Norris and Piastri to face the Red Bull Racing driver.
The analysis will also include the moment when the two McLaren cars nearly touched before the Roggia chicane. Norris had two wheels on the grass and radioed that Piastri had pushed him, but Stella stated that subsequent reviews showed an incident less severe than it appeared: “It’s something we will certainly review, and we will review it in the context of this kind of duel,” he added.
