McLaren defended its choice not to swap drivers after the safety car, trusting Norris to beat both Piastri and Verstappen naturally.
Should McLaren F1 have issued team orders after the final safety car at Imola?
Max Verstappen led the race on fresh tyres, followed by Oscar Piastri on worn tyres and Lando Norris also on fresh tyres.
The Briton asked over the radio that his teammate not hold him up so he could attempt to challenge Verstappen for the win.
However, no team orders were given to help Norris and take the fight to Red Bull. While the decision still seems surprising, team principal Andrea Stella offered an explanation.
“It was an idea we had in mind,” he responded when asked whether they considered asking Piastri to let Norris through after the safety car.
“We wanted Oscar to have his chance at the restart. We therefore assumed that if Lando had the pace to overtake Max, he should have been able to pass Oscar easily as well, given the condition of his tyres. But that didn’t happen.”
“In reality, if the pace difference had been significant, things would have naturally sorted themselves out behind Max. So we’re satisfied with how things played out.”
“Both drivers are satisfied; they feel it was fair and that this is how we will race.”
Lando Norris, for his part, added before heading to the official press conference that he understood the thinking.
“I was on better tyres, but I wasn’t expecting anything. The fight was still tough. It was just before Turn 1. That’s how it should be, of course.”
“I lost time because of it, and so did he, but that’s what we have to do to fight for the championship.”
“If you try to please one person, the other will be unhappy — that’s how it is. I think we handled the situation well, and it was a good job by the team.”
Andrea Stella also praised the race performance of Verstappen and Red Bull.
“It was a busy race, with many episodes that could have changed its course. But they didn’t change the leader. The lead was taken, as you say, into Turn 1, and from there, credit to Max today — he was very fast.”
“We tried several things to apply pressure, deviating from our planned strategy, but it didn’t pay off. The hard tyres didn’t degrade much. We won the race in Saudi Arabia at Turn 1 with a good start and strong move.”
“Today, it was the opposite, with some variability during the race. It’s not a problem. Two McLarens on the podium is a strong result for the constructors and good points for both drivers.”
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