McLaren issued one Oscar Piastri team order that was far worse than Monza but no-one talks about it

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Oscar Piastri was instructed to return second place to Lando Norris at the end of Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. It was a move that divided the world of Formula 1.

Norris had qualified ahead of Piastri, and while he lost touch with pole-sitter Max Verstappen, he was running comfortably ahead of his title rival when McLaren made their one and only pit stop. The Woking outfit aggressively extended their first stint to try and put pressure on Verstappen.

Norris invited Piastri’s side of the garage to pit first in order to ward off any threat of an undercut from Charles Leclerc. But when the Englishman came in afterwards, he was held for over five seconds.

He fell behind his teammate as a result, but McLaren instructed Piastri to let his teammate back through. While he initially questioned the order, he obliged, and they crossed the line in their original positions.

McLaren’s Melbourne team orders were much more egregious than Monza debacle

Speaking in the post-race press conference, Piastri made it clear that he viewed the decision from the pit wall as ‘fair’. He stressed his commitment to protecting the team’s ‘culture’.

“I think today was a fair request,” he said. “Lando qualified ahead, was ahead the whole race, and lost that spot through no fault of his own.

“I said what I had to say on the radio. And once I got the second request, then I’m not going to go against the team.

“I think there’s a lot of people to protect and a culture to protect outside of just Lando and I. Ultimately, that’s a very important thing going forward.”

It’s the second time this season Piastri has been subject to team orders. The first instance was at the season opener in Melbourne, where he was chasing Norris for the win.

• READ MORE: Unheard Oscar Piastri radio messages highlight how McLaren controlled Lando Norris battle during Australian Grand Prix

When the two McLarens encountered blue-flagged backmarkers, he was told not to attack Norris for three laps. As ESPN note, ‘the incident became a footnote’ because Piastri spun off during a subsequent shower, eventually finishing ninth.

The radio messages in question were also unbroadcast, so they rather slipped under the radar. But this was much more controversial than the Monza debacle – taking advantage of traffic is a common practice in racing, and Piastri was denied one of his best tactical opportunities to pass his teammate.

David Coulthard explains why Oscar Piastri team order upsets him as an F1 fan

The Australia radio messages should upset Piastri most. It may seem like it made little difference in the end, but the principle is the issue – these were arguably excessive restrictions on the natural course of a Grand Prix.

Returning to Monza, David Coulthard feels ‘uncomfortable’ with McLaren’s team orders as a racing fan. He accused them of overly ‘manipulating’ the result.

But Karun Chandhok has praised Piastri for preventing ‘tension’ within the team. After all, some of Norris’ mechanics are working on his pit stops.

The buy-in from the two McLaren drivers up to this point has been remarkable. But their willingness to prioritise the collective interest will be increasingly tested as the world championship trophy comes into view in the remaining eight races.