What David Croft noticed in Oscar Piastri radio after Lando Norris team orders at Sao Paulo Grand Prix

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Oscar Piastri had to give up his Sprint victory to McLaren teammate Lando Norris at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. This was the expected outcome given that Norris is fighting Max Verstappen for the drivers’ championship.

Piastri pipped Norris to pole position by just three-hundredths of a second on Saturday after the British driver had dominated Sprint qualifying. McLaren would have preferred the title chaser to be ahead.

Norris came into the weekend 47 points behind Verstappen, giving him an outside chance of mounting a late challenge. Piastri briefly looked like a contender earlier in the year, but has now fallen more than 100 adrift.

Andrea Stella decided in Azerbaijan in September that the team would favour Norris. McLaren imposed team orders on Piastri n the USA at the start of the triple-header, instructing him to slow down so he didn’t overtake his teammate, who had a five-second penalty for an incident with Verstappen.

But that radio message was unbroadcast, whereas this was under the spotlight. The team swapped their cars in the closing stages after Piastri had led throughout.

The Australian moved over to cover off his teammate into the first corner. But if he had the pace to pull away, he wasn’t allowed to show it because the team wanted Norris to have the benefit of DRS, seeing off the threat of the cars behind.

David Croft senses Oscar Piatri’s ‘disappointment’ after Brazilian Grand Prix team orders

After the chequered flag, Piastri’s engineer Tom Stallard applauded him for his ‘massive support’ and urged him to be ‘proud’ despite missing out on the victory. He accepted it was a ‘good day for the team’.

But speaking on Sky Sports F1, commentator David Croft could sense the ‘disappointment’. Before Saturday, Piastri was the last driver not named Verstappen to win a Sprint, having done so in Qatar last year.

However, Croft fully understands the decision. McLaren maintained their 15-point haul amid their constructors’ battle with Ferrari, and also benefitted Norris in his pursuit of Verstappen.

“Well done Oscar, great job,” Stallard said. “Massive support to the team as well. You can be proud of your work today. Really good.”

Piastri replied: “Yeah, well done everyone. Good day for the team, and bit of pace to find. But well done everyone.”

Croft reacted as follows: “I can hear the disappointment in Oscar Piastri, and understandably as well. Without team orders, he would have taken his second victory in a Sprint race.

“But for the team, it was no net loss whatsoever. It was the one-two finish they were looking for.”

Karun Chandhok says Oscar Piastri ‘sent a message’ to McLaren

Piastri came into Sao Paulo on the back of a mini-slump. He didn’t score in the Austin Sprint after an SQ1 exit, and he also ended up at the back of the grid in Mexico before recovering to eighth.

However, his pole lap on Friday was of his finest moments yet in F1. Karun Chandhok says Piastri used a ‘Fernando Alonso trick’, concealing some pace before stunning Norris at the last.

Unfortunately, that lap counts for nothing. But the 23-year-old is at least underlining the fact that the number two arrangement is temporary.

Piastri ‘sent a message’ to McLaren, according to Chandhok, by refusing to give up the lead earlier. He wanted to show that Norris couldn’t beat him on speed alone.