'We got it wrong' - McLaren make striking admission over Lando Norris Oscar Piastri controversy

McLaren boss Zak Brown has conceded the team "got it wrong" over its handling of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at last season's Italian Grand Prix.

Norris and Piastri qualified on the front row at Monza, with Norris' title rival Max Verstappen down in eighth as Red Bull struggled at the Autodromo.

Both McLaren drivers were subject to so-called 'papaya rules' that were imposed, which meant 'don't crash into each other' as McLaren did not impose team orders to favour Norris, who was the best championship bet.

On the opening lap, Piastri got into the tow of Norris through Curva Grande to the second chicane and pulled off an audacious move around the outside of Turns 4 and 5 to snatch the lead, with Norris falling to third behind race-winner Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc one-stopped his way to a famous win in front of the Tifosi, as Piastri finished second with Norris third, taking only seven points out of championship-leader Verstappen, who took sixth on a difficult day for Red Bull. 

Had Norris won with the fastest lap, he would have banked 26 points to Verstappen's eight, taking an extra 11 points from the Dutchman, although he would ultimately win the title by 67 points.

In the end, after an early row in Hungary over team orders, McLaren decided to impose them to favour Norris over the closing races, with Norris, Piastri and Brown reflecting on the Monza incident in the new season of Drive to Survive on Netflix.

Below is a transcript of what was said.

Lando Norris (LN): "If I expected him to do that [the overtaking move at Monza] he would never have had the chance to do it.

LN: It probably cost us the win.

Oscar Piastri (ZB): "We are free to race each other, so there is no rule about the first corner, that decision is down to Zak. 

Zak Brown (ZB): We got that wrong, and if we are going to win the constructors', we need to minimise the mistakes.

INTERVIEWER: Is this going to cost you the championship?

ZB: I'd rather not think about it, so I've decided I am not going to think about it. 

You can check out RacingNews365's review of the latest season here, with seven 7 released globally on Friday 7th March.