Jolyon Palmer criticises the ‘strange’ call McLaren made at Monza

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McLaren had the opportunity to take victory at the Italian Grand Prix after locking out the front row in qualifying but couldn’t secure an all-important victory.

The British team had the quickest car in Italy but lost out as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc perfected the one-stop strategy to win the race.

Lando Norris lost the lead after starting on pole position to his teammate Oscar Piastri on the opening lap, as the Australian swept around the outside at the Della Roggia chicane.

Norris finished third behind his teammate in Italy, and the team’s reluctance to swap the two drivers in the closing stages caused some confusion.

Jolyon Palmer believes McLaren’s decision-making ‘doesn’t make a lot of sense’

McLaren was blisteringly fast at Monza but failed to take victory despite having the quickest car, which has cost them valuable points in the Constructors’ Championship.

As Red Bull could only manage sixth and eighth places with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, the British team gained points in the championship standings.

Norris is took a chunk out of the Dutchman’s lead in the drivers’ standings, with the gap now at 62 points with eight races to go.

READ MORE: Nico Rosberg highlights the ‘best example’ of Lando Norris being too negative at Monza

Despite gaining on the championship leader, the 24-year-old had the chance to take even more points away from his rival. Red Bull may not struggle as much as they did in Monza in future races, which could make the Italian Grand Prix even more of a missed opportunity.

Formula 1 pundit Jolyon Palmer believes that McLaren should have swapped their two cars and allowed Norris to finish in second place, taking more points away from Verstappen.

He said on the official Formula 1 YouTube channel: “McLaren not swapping the positions of Piastri and Norris doesn’t make a lot of sense when Norris can win the title.

“Piastri will not be champion in 2024. He’s just too far back at the moment, and Norris is the more form driver. It had to be sensible for McLaren to switch those two places.

“You’re helping Lando to take three more points into the lead of Max Verstappen. But McLaren doing strange things in Monza tactically and giving up a chance to maximise their points.”

McLaren may not be good enough operationally to beat Red Bull to the title in Formula 1

Red Bull have dominated the past couple of seasons in Formula 1 since the sport’s new ground effect rules were introduced in 2022.

They have been the class of the field on the track and in the pit lane as well as having the clear quality to win races and titles.

Racing at the front requires a different mentality to battling in the midfield as every error is much more costly.

McLaren hasn’t won a championship since 2008, and it may take them some time to consistently win races before they are ready to clinch a title.