McLaren accused of ‘manipulating’ Monza

Recently concluded Italian Grand Prix with Max Verstappen securing a pole despite the dominating McLaren show.

However, in the closing stages of the race, McLaren made sure that they were once again at the centre of attention, but this time not for the right reasons.

They made an ultra-conservative decision to pit Oscar Piastri before Lando Norris. The move allowed Piastri a rapid 1.9-second stop, only for McLaren to fumble Norris’ tyre change a lap later.

Moreover, despite reservations, he allowed teammate Norris past on the main straight.

F1 fans weren’t happy with the team’s decision, and Norris was booed as he walked onto the podium at Monza.

Former racing driver Martin Brundle took a dig at McLaren’s team orders, stating that the team might owe him a few victories back in the 1990s.

He stated that as a fan, he wanted McLaren to make that kind of decision.

“He went back on again. And they get a sequence of lights to tell them that everything has been seated properly. There was just a hesitation, a rare mistake, given that you just highlighted the brilliant stop they did for Oscar. This is just racing.

“They obviously felt that the race was neutralised with Lando having the advantage coming into the pit stop.

“They feel that he’s been disadvantaged because of the team, not because of something that Oscar has done on track, and then they’ve asked him to make the switch.