What Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri must do after McLaren mess at Monza

Following the Italian Grand Prix, McLaren found itself engulfed in controversy surrounding the management of its two drivers – and not for the first time.

The Woking-based squad instructing Oscar Piastri to move aside for Lando Norris in the closing stages of the race at Monza has proven contentious.

Of course, it was not a case of unprovoked team orders; it was to right the wrong of Norris' poor pitstop, which was not his own error but that of the team.

That mistake cost the British driver track position, having been assured that no undercut from Piastri would take place.

But the catalyst for the uneasy situation was pitting Piastri, who was behind, first in a move that defies convention in F1 and has stung McLaren before.

It has drawn comparisons to the Hungarian Grand Prix last season, albeit not without its differences. To further muddy the waters, it was Norris who suggested it. 

McLaren could have overruled the British driver and not agreed to it. It should have. That alone would have prevented this entire mess.

Yes, Charles Leclerc behind Piastri needed to be covered off, and the team did not want to risk him falling behind the Ferrari, but was nothing learned from the Hungaroring?

Had Norris come in first and still suffered the poor pit stop, there would be no obligation to switch the positions. In that scenario, Piastri would have been significantly more within his rights to decline any team order - and it is harder to imagine that call coming anyway.

And if the Australian, stopping second, had endured the slow stop, then tough. It would have been brutal luck if Leclerc had got past, but McLaren would not have created the mess it did to anywhere near the same extent, and it certainly would not have felt the need to intervene.

But the most striking element to all this: why was Norris, in the heat of a title battle with his team-mate, offering for Piastri to be pitted first? Why was he offering that at all?

The dark side to McLaren's principles

The constructors' championship was sewn up a long time ago. From that perspective, there is nothing left to play for. It has been down to dotting the Is and crossing the Ts for months now.

There was no need for Norris to play the team game here. The fact that he is still thinking with a team-first mentality emphasises the dark side of the principles McLaren has instilled in its two drivers.

At Monza, that approach is what instigated the mess the papaya outfit found itself in. It cannot happen again.

It forces the team into a position it does not want to be in, but it will happen again - unless both drivers start putting themselves first unequivocally.

Neither driver is without the ruthlessness they are so often accused of lacking; it is merely a case of tapping into it.

The time for that is now. If there can be one silver lining to the episode in Italy, let it be that.

Overblown suggestions

Ultimately, I don't hate the team orders call. It made sense in the circumstances. It was making the most of a very difficult - whilst wholly needless and unnecessary - situation.

However, Piastri was understandably aggrieved. Whilst he fell in line post-race, his team radio exchange with engineer Tom Stallard said it all - and he said as much in the FIA press conference on Sunday evening.

There are many drivers, including Max Verstappen, who would not have acquiesced to the instruction - and had Norris been pitted first, I do not think anyone would have expected Piastri to, if it had even come.

The call by McLaren has divided opinion. The word precedent and the phrase opened a can of worms have been bandied about.

The idea that one of the McLaren drivers would let rival cars pass to correct their order on track if their team-mate fell behind due to a slow stop in some hypothetical future scenario is a moot point - it simply would not happen.

But, whilst those suggestions are overblown, the point is well-meaning and cuts to a deeper issue and an inherent risk, which there most certainly is.

To some, it has set a precedent that whenever misfortune befalls one, the other must pay some sort of price, in the name of being fair. But what is fair, and where is the line?

What is fair?

McLaren is hellbent on ensuring fairness between its two drivers. To a fault. It overmanaged the situation at Monza and came off worse for it.

Andrea Stella and Zak Brown having their hands on the scales, in pursuit of parity, have helped guide McLaren to this point, but that approach can only take the team so far.

They must now relinquish that control. They cannot orchestrate the championship, and only one driver can win the crown.

I've written about the risk the team exposes itself to with its 'two number one driver' ethos - in this column - in the past; by trying to keep both Norris and Piastri happy, it risks making both unhappy.

Here, in trying to manipulate results and overengineer to maintain fairness, it risks producing an intrinsically unfair outcome, which is why it must now take a step back.

What is needed is twofold: McLaren must let its drivers determine their own fates, and in turn, both need to be monomaniacally focused on defeating the other. Do not consider the other in the strategy. Take what you can, when you can.

Stella and Brown must trust their drivers will engage in battle cleanly. If they cannot, that is where intervention is justified.

Both Norris and Piastri have spoken about wanting a long-term partnership, and neither wants to upset the apple cart, so do their bosses really have reason to worry?

No one is saying do not race respectfully, and that it is no-holds-barred in wheel-to-wheel combat, but McLaren needs to loosen its grip on the drivers' title fight.

And if the team cannot hand the reins to Norris and Piastri, the pair must seize control of the title fight on track, together.