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‘I'm not here to beg for someone to let me past’ says title challenger Norris as McLaren avoid imposing team orders in Monza
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Lando Norris gained more crucial points on title rival Max Verstappen at the Italian Grand Prix, after finishing P3 to the Dutch driver’s P6. But the Briton admitted that he would have appreciated McLaren imposing team orders to allow him to finish ahead of team mate Oscar Piastri, after the Australian took P2 in the race.
Piastri showed that he wasn’t in the mood to mess around as the Italian Grand Prix got under way, executing a stunning move around the outside of his pole-sitting team mate Norris into Monza’s second chicane to take the lead on Lap 1 – with Norris then falling to third after getting passed in the following corner by eventual winner Charles Leclerc.
With McLaren having used the phrase “papaya rules” over team radio when telling Piastri and Norris that they were allowed to fight, Norris was asked post-race what those rules meant – and whether Piastri’s Lap 1 move had conformed to them.
“Just don't crash, that's all,” said Norris of the meaning behind the rule. “And yeah, there was no contact so, he did a good job.”
2024 Italian Grand Prix: Norris loses lead to Oscar Piastri
“I broke later and got around the outside,” said Piastri. “There wasn't really much more to it than that; we both got through unscathed. I knew once I hit the brakes, I kind of got ahead a bit and I was entitled to stay on the outside and ultimately, for 38 laps of that race, it put me in a race-winning position. So for me it was just a good first lap.”
It was McLaren’s decision to pit Piastri and Norris for a second time – as Leclerc ensured victory by staying out on a one-stop strategy – that saw Piastri and Norris finish second and third.
But with Norris chasing down Verstappen in the title fight – the Briton currently 62 points adrift of the Dutch driver with eight races to go – Norris was asked whether he would have appreciated McLaren intervening to swap the cars in the final laps as their chances of chasing down Leclerc for victory faded, to hand him an extra three points while maintaining the same number of constructors’ points for the team.
“I mean, I would love it, but… it’s not up to me,” Norris replied. “It's tough because obviously I think as any driver you don't want [team orders]. You don't want things to just be played that way and yeah… it's a tough one.
Neither Piastri nor Norris were pumped for their podiums in the post-race press conference
“Obviously I wouldn't say we’re running out of time, but time is going away slowly. I still believe that we can do it; you know the pace is obviously great,” added Norris, who won last time out in Zandvoort. “I still believe we probably had close to, if not the best car again today, so I don't know. It's not for me to decide. It's for the team.
“But I think we're still working together well and we're still helping one another and I think that's showed plenty of times this year that we're working together very well as a team and we're performing as the best team out on the grid and we're very happy with that.
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“But yeah, I don't know – when you’re fighting for a championship, you want every little thing and I'm doing everything I can.
“The best way simply is just to win the race and I didn't do that today because of some silly things. So yeah, this is for the team, not for me.”
Monza wasn’t the first time that McLaren have faced questions in 2024 over their team order strategy, meanwhile, with Piastri having taken his maiden victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix after Norris used an advantageous strategy call to get ahead of his team mate, before eventually acquiescing to the team’s request to hand the lead back to the Australian.
Race Highlights: 2024 Italian Grand Prix
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