{"id":128941,"date":"2025-09-08T14:11:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T14:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/128941\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T14:11:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T14:11:11","slug":"mclaren-might-have-opened-pandoras-box-in-monza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/128941\/","title":{"rendered":"McLaren might have opened Pandora\u2019s box in Monza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mercedes<\/a> Formula 1 team principal Toto Wolff\u2019s experience of running a team that dominated the sport for almost a decade, while also managing the internal battle between Lewis Hamilton<\/a> and Nico Rosberg<\/a>, makes him an interesting observer to hear from following the Italian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

It is no surprise that on Sunday evening, mixed in with questions about Mercedes\u2019 overall performance in Monza and another underwhelming showing from Andrea Kimi Antonelli<\/a>, the topic of McLaren<\/a>\u2019s team orders came up again and again during his post-race media session.<\/p>\n

The call from the pitwall for\u00a0Oscar Piastri<\/a>\u00a0to let Lando Norris<\/a>\u00a0through, after the Briton was delayed by some four seconds during his pitstop, sparked a debate in the paddock \u2013 for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuper interesting question,\u201d said Wolff, when asked what he would do in such a situation. \u201cThere is no right and there is no wrong. And I’m curious to see how that pans out.\u201d<\/p>\n

His next sentence summed up the dilemma McLaren is facing now: \u201cYou set a precedent that is very difficult to undo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

It is important to take into account McLaren\u2019s point of view \u2013 and during his session with the press at Monza, which happened almost simultaneously with Wolff\u2019s conference, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella spoke at length about how important it is not to isolate the pitstop issue from other factors that led the papaya pitwall to make the call.<\/p>\n

\"Oscar <\/p>\n

Oscar Piastri, McLaren<\/p>\n

Photo by: Steven Tee \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation whereby we swap the drivers is not only related to the pitstop,\u201d the Italian first stated, \u201cand this is useful that I clarify, it’s also related to the fact that we wanted to sequence the pitstops of the two cars by stopping Oscar first and then Lando. And we had the clear intent that this should have not led to a swap of position.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just done because we were covering Leclerc, and at the same time we were waiting until the last possible moment to see if there had been a red flag or a safety car. So we pursued the team interest, and to capitalise as much as possible on this interest, we needed to go first with Oscar, then with Lando, but the clear intent was this is not going to deliver a swap of positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the fact that we went first with Oscar, compounded by the slow pitstop of Lando, then led to a swap of positions, and we thought it was absolutely the right thing to go back to the situation pre-existing the pitstop and then let the guys race.<\/p>\n

\u201cHad we gone first with Lando, I think even despite the pitstop, if we do the calculations with such a strong undercut power that you have on a new soft, he could have recovered quite a bit of the time lost at the pitstop.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo for us, it was relatively simple to say the intent was that we’re not going to swap positions \u2013 and that’s why the slow pitstop compounds with this intent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lando <\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren<\/p>\n

Photo by: Mark Sutton \/ Formula 1 via Getty Images<\/p>\n

It is indeed an important nuance: McLaren could have pitted Norris first \u2013 and he\u2019d have had a full lap on fresh softs compared to Piastri\u2019s used mediums to make up the difference, even if he still had a slow stop. Whether he would have emerged in front, remains debatable. But whatever the answer, McLaren pitted Piastri first because of the need to cover the distant threat from Charles Leclerc<\/a> and make sure Norris was not at a disadvantage in case of a safety car.<\/p>\n

There was, indeed, no intent to swap positions between the drivers. And it didn\u2019t seem like the risk was there \u2013 because Piastri was still almost four seconds behind his team-mate on the lap before he dived into the pitlane.<\/p>\n

The sequence of stops undeniably contributed to the order in which the McLaren drivers rejoined the track after their pitstops. Yet does that fully explain the bigger question around what a slow pitstop represents \u2013 and whether that is simply \u201cpart of racing\u201d? And it was none other than Piastri himself who raised the point first \u2013 while still in the car and still running second on the road.<\/p>\n

“I mean, we said that a slow pitstop was part of racing, so I don’t really get what’s changed here,” radioed the Australian right before informing the team that, despite lacking a degree of understanding, he wasn\u2019t intending to disobey the order.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d have to admire McLaren for the excellent team culture Stella and Zak Brown have managed to build over the last few years \u2013 and it\u2019s great to see how the drivers themselves are playing their part. Piastri and Norris both did their best to play the incident down during the official press conference, sitting on the couch on either side of Max Verstappen<\/a> after the race. But when the question about that very same radio message came up, Piastri did let slip a hint that he wasn\u2019t entirely convinced the swap was fully in line with the papaya rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the radio call kind of says enough,\u201d he said with a wide smile. \u201cI\u2019m sure we’ll discuss it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Charles <\/p>\n

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren<\/p>\n

Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s where Wolff\u2019s observations are spot on. Where do you draw the line, then?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s not a clear-cut answer for today,\u201d the Mercedes manager said. \u201cThe answer, whether managing it that way [is right], is going to come towards the end of the season – if it’s going to get more fierce. I think the team made a mistake, the team inverted the positions. Absolutely fair decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the other side, what is a team mistake? What if next time around the car doesn’t start up and you lose the position or whatever. The suspension breaks. What do you do then in the next one? So you could have a cascade of precedents that’s going to be very difficult to manage.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the McLaren order swap represented in the end was a six-point swing in the championship. By allowing Norris to gain a position, he was granted three more points for the Monza race \u2013 and Piastri lost the same amount.<\/p>\n

If you take the Monza performance only into account \u2013 it was absolutely fair, as Lando was just the better of the two. So the team\u2019s decision simply ensured everyone got what they deserved.<\/p>\n

But does that allow Piastri to wonder \u2013 with the same performance-based, fairness-only logic applied \u2013 why the same wasn\u2019t done in Hungary just a month ago? Because it was him who was the better driver there \u2013 and only the fact that Norris was diverted to a different strategy gave Lando the chance for victory. Back then, the decision on when to pit the drivers, and the intention behind moving Norris to a different strategy, wasn\u2019t to make him beat Piastri. It was to overtake other cars, which the Briton fell behind after a difficult first lap. Yet no call to swap positions came in the last laps, when the Australian reeled in behind his team-mate.<\/p>\n

The fact that some strategies work better than others in Formula 1 \u2013 even despite all the simulation tools and predictions \u2013 is, of course, just part of racing. As technical retirements are too. And slow pitstops. Or are they not?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if the team does another mistake and it’s not a pitstop… [do you] switch them around?\u201d wondered Wolff. \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Toto <\/p>\n

Toto Wolff, Mercedes<\/p>\n

Photo by: Luca Barsali – NurPhoto – Getty Images<\/p>\n

Wolff is not wrong in saying there\u2019s \u201cno right answer\u201d \u2013 and right, too, in saying \u201cthere\u2019s no wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n

It is a complex matter, after all. And when you\u2019re building a \u201cteam first\u201d culture, it\u2019s also important to look after not only the drivers, but every other individual working for the team \u2013 including the one operating the wheelgun on the front-left corner in the pit box. But whether it would\u2019ve been \u201cfairer\u201d to just accept the slow pitstop as \u201cpart of racing\u201d is also an interesting point of debate.<\/p>\n

It could all be forgotten at the end of the year, should Piastri go on and win the title with a comfortable gap. But what if he doesn\u2019t? To keep the battle absolutely fair is almost impossible in such a complex sport as Formula 1 \u2013 where something as random as an oil line issue can cost a driver a huge points haul in the middle of a title fight. And it\u2019s simply impossible to completely remove the team\u2019s influence from the outcome of that fight.<\/p>\n

What Monza might have done, though, is open Pandora\u2019s box for McLaren.<\/p>\n

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the one who released all the troubles of the world by lifting the lid she was told not to touch. Once you decide that some mistakes are part of racing and some are not, once you make fairness conditional, the lid is off \u2013 and the questions will keep coming back.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

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