Starting from 1-2, McLaren was expected to win the Italian GP with either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri in front. However, the latter’s first lap overtake on his teammate followed by an incorrect strategy call handed the victory to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc instead.
Much focus was put on the dynamic between the McLaren drivers post-race. Many felt that choosing Norris as the number one driver would have helped them on Sunday, and in the championship fight in the long run. Piastri, however, didn’t have much to say on that.
When asked by the media, if McLaren should prioritize one driver for the remainder of the season, Piastri replied, “No comments.”
Lando and Oscar when asked if Mclaren should back Lando:
Norris: “It’s not up to me. I think as any driver you don’t want things to play that way. I wouldn’t say we’re running out of time but time is going away slowly. It’s not for me to decide.”
Piastri: “No comments.” pic.twitter.com/3zVpEufpZS
— McLaren News | (@McLarenF1_News) September 1, 2024
Piastri overtook Norris on the first lap, which cost the latter another position to Leclerc. From there, Norris’s chances of winning grew slimmer with each passing lap as he struggled to keep up with the SF24 ahead. Had the McLaren drivers maintained their 1-2 position during the first stint, things might have turned out differently.
McLaren opted for a two-stop strategy, affecting their track position. Meanwhile, Leclerc’s one-stop strategy allowed him to take and maintain the lead until the final lap. It was a missed opportunity for McLaren to capitalize on Red Bull’s poor weekend, and Norris was visibly distraught after the race.
Norris misses chance to expand lead over Verstappen
Norris started the weekend 70 points ahead of Verstappen. Given the Red Bull cars’ slower pace compared to Norris’ MCL38, Verstappen was effectively running his own race and could only manage P6.
Norris could have brought down the gap to 53 points had he won the Italian GP. Instead, by finishing P3, it was 62.
The state of play leaving Monza #F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/Cq0sU9VkAW
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 1, 2024
Norris too, refused to take a stand, when asked if McLaren should have given him priority over Piastri. However, he said much more than Piastri did. “It’s not up to me. I think as any driver you don’t want things to play that way.”
Norris understood that asking Piastri to simply give up a fairly earned lead would be unfair on his part. He insisted that there was still time to turn things around in the drivers’ championship, but emphasized the urgency.
With eight races remaining, the next round is the Azerbaijan GP in Baku. McLaren is just eight points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ championship and could take the lead on September 15 at the Caspian shores.
