McLaren faced a contentious situation during the Italian Grand Prix when a technical problem during Lando Norris's pit stop created an unexpected position swap between their drivers.
The British racer encountered a 5.9-second delay in the pits when his front wheel failed to tighten correctly, allowing teammate Oscar Piastri to gain track position.
The Australian had entered the pits one lap before Norris, receiving swift service in just 1.9 seconds.
When Norris emerged from his problematic stop, he found himself running behind Piastri despite holding second position beforehand. The team promptly issued instructions for the drivers to exchange places.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri suffered technical issues in the pit stop
|REUTERS
Piastri voiced his displeasure through team radio, questioning the decision with pointed remarks.
"I mean, we said that a slow pitstop was part of racing, so I don't really get what's changed here," the Australian stated, referencing earlier team communications about racing incidents.
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Despite his objections, he complied with the instruction and relinquished the position. His post-race radio message remained terse: "A bit of a tough one.
"Once the rear calmed down a bit then it was all right. Bit lively through the race. Thanks for the effort. Not the easiest of weekends. Yeah."
Norris remained silent when his race engineer Will Joseph offered an apology for the pit stop mishap.
Speaking afterwards, the 25-year-old acknowledged the team's error whilst maintaining a diplomatic stance.
Max Verstappen finished ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
|REUTERS
"I felt like I was there for quite a long time," Norris said. "I guess every now and then, we make mistakes as a team. So today was one of them."
The British driver conceded that victory was beyond reach regardless of the pit stop incident.
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"I did everything I could today. I tried to fight against Max, but he had a good race, and he came out on top, and they deserved it," he stated.
Championship leader Max Verstappen offered his own perspective when informed about the position swap by his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
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"Ha! Just because he had a slow stop?" the Dutchman responded, before being advised to concentrate on his own race.
The Red Bull driver secured a commanding victory at Monza, finishing nearly 20 seconds ahead of Norris.
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Lando Norris remained silent after receiving an apology from McLaren
|REUTERS
McLaren struggled to match their rivals' speed throughout the weekend, with Norris admitting it was "one of the first few weekends where we're just a bit slower."
The result reduced Piastri's championship advantage over Norris to 31 points, a decrease of three from the previous race.