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Oscar Piastri Defends McLaren’s Team Orders Despite Missed Podium Opportunity at F1 Australian Grand Prix

Carl Harrison by Carl Harrison
March 19, 2025
in Motorsports
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
McLaren CEO Critiques Red Bull’s F1 Driver Choices Following Yuki Tsunoda’s Stellar Performance

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 14: Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren talks with Zak Brown, Chief Executive Officer of McLaren in the garage prior to practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on March 14, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Steven Tee/LAT Images)

Oscar Piastri, McLaren’s Formula 1 star, remains unequivocal about his team’s approach to team orders, even after directives in the Australian Grand Prix discouraged him from overtaking fellow McLaren driver Lando Norris. The Australian Grand Prix was a heartrending affair for Piastri, as a potential podium placement slipped from his grasp following a spin with only 13 laps remaining, amid fluctuating weather conditions.

Despite stumbling to a ninth-place finish, Piastri had, until his mishap, been a strong contender for the winner’s title. He was hot on the heels of teammate Norris, with the McLaren duo leading the pack. As the track dried, Piastri seized the opportunity to close the gap on Norris, clocking successive fastest laps and reducing the distance between them to less than a second.

McLaren’s approach to this season has been resolute, insisting on equal racing opportunities for both drivers. However, in the heat of the moment, Piastri’s race engineer Tom Stallard advised him to maintain his position. Piastri complied with the directive, a decision later justified by McLaren boss Andrea Stella, who cited concerns regarding lapped cars and unpredictable weather as the reason for their intervention.

Distancing himself from speculation that the team’s decision was biased towards Norris, Piastri expressed his intention to discuss the situation with his team. Speaking to the media, including Motorsport Week, he said, “We were approaching back markers, one dry line, not knowing if there was going to be rain to come. So I’ll speak to the team and try and understand better what the thinking was, but I think it’s always clear that those kind of calls can come in either direction.”

The race’s final outcome, however, would render this decision insignificant, as Piastri found himself off-course and stranded in the grass on the 44th lap. He suggested that overtaking Norris might have been a tall order, regardless of the team’s directive, due to his aggressive mid-race pursuit that wore out the grip on his tires.

Reflecting on the incident, Piastri said, “I think by the time we were free to race I kind of killed my front left a little bit getting to the back of Lando, so by that point there wasn’t much I could do. So I think that was probably a pretty minor moment in today’s race.”

McLaren maintains that their intervention didn’t negatively impact Piastri’s race. Though he was allowed to race Norris, an error at Turn 6 gave Norris, the eventual winner, the upper hand. When queried about the effect of the team’s instruction on Piastri’s momentum, Brown told Sky Sports F1, “We- Andrea and I on the pit wall – actually just kind of released him to go racing, and we just wanted to make sure we cleared the traffic.”

Brown added, “So that was a hold for a moment, and then it looked like he dropped a wheel and then fell back a bit of a gap. But I just think they were pushing really hard in very tricky conditions.” The McLaren team continues to celebrate Norris, who clinched the Australian GP victory despite racing with a heavily damaged floor.

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