Oscar Piastri explains what Ferrari did that ‘surprised’ him at Monza

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McLaren slipped up at the Italian Grand Prix – failing to win despite locking out the front row and having the fastest car across the course of the race.

Oscar Piastri‘s attacking lunge around the outside of teammate Lando Norris on lap one completely changed the complexion of the race, as he caught the Brit napping to steal the lead.

Norris got a bad exit from the Roggia chicane, allowing Charles Leclerc to jump ahead of him too and halt his progress.

Back behind, Red Bull‘s struggles continued, meaning that McLaren were still in a good position to gain ground in the constructors’ championship.

Oscar Piastri shares what ‘surprised’ him about Ferrari at Monza

Leclerc sandwiching the McLaren drivers enabled him to adopt a different strategy and put them under pressure with a one-stop.

Their tyre struggles continued, while Ferrari pushed on in clean air and were able to build a gap that neither Piastri or Norris could close by the end of the race.

Their tyre longevity and bold strategy call is something that surprised Piastri, who was relentless in his chase, but ultimately fell just two seconds short.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen bemoans Red Bull spending money on ‘something else’ rather than Monza upgrade

“I think the pace was about what I expected, it was just that I was hoping he [Charles] was going to fall off a bit,” he told Sky Sports.

“I think he kind of went through the same kind of graining, then it seemed to clear up for him, which I didn’t expect. In all of practice and even on the medium, as soon as the front tyres started to grain, it was basically game over.

“I was a bit surprised that it came back to him and he could maintain that pace. In hindsight it’s a great thing to know, but at the time I think what we did was a sensible strategy.”

Piastri shows no concern for teammate’s title charge

Piastri’s early move shows that he has no intentions of moving aside for Norris at any point in the near future.

McLaren have had the opportunity to move Piastri out of the way on a few occasions, but appear set on a new ‘papaya rule’.

READ MORE: Nico Rosberg shares ‘what matters most’ to McLaren after Lando Norris’s Monza pole position

It allows their drivers to race each other fairly as long as they make no contact, which they came very close to breaking at Monza.

Norris even felt that the move was a bit aggressive from his teammate, but Nico Rosberg came to his defence after the race claiming that it was an excellent move.

How this unfolds as the championship fight intensifies and the gap to Red Bull closes is going to be fascinating, but you expect that McLaren will have to prioritise the big silverware at some point.