Oscar Piastri makes Mark Webber admission after McLaren Monza talks

The last time Formula 1 took the checkered flag, it was under highly controversial conditions, with the McLaren team advising Oscar Piastri to cede position to teammate Lando Norris after the Briton had a slow pit stop. But much like his mentor Mark Webber, Piastri isn’t letting the drama get to him.

Speaking to media ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Piastri noted that manager Webber had little to say about the affair — and that, further, they both better understand the reasons behind the request for Piastri to move over.

Oscar Piastri shuts down ongoing Monza speculation

A fairly uninspiring Italian Grand Prix brought plenty of drama in the closing stages of the race, when second-placed Lando Norris advised his McLaren team to pit Oscar Piastri first in the final 10 laps, only for Norris to suffer a slow stop that saw him emerge on track behind his teammate.

Piastri expressed some initial surprise on the radio, pointing out that “slow pit stops” were deemed to be a part of racing by the team. Still, he moved over to allow his teammate through.

What followed was a steady outcry in both traditional motorsport media and on social media, with pundits and fans alike wondering if the team in papaya had exerted far too much influence over the finish of a race that could indeed be critical to its drivers overall fight for a drivers’ title.

But speaking to media ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri admitted that, after some discussions with the team, he understands why the call was made.

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Primarily, Piastri pointed out that there was a “contributing factor” to the team order that he had not been aware of during the race: The pit sequencing that ultimately led to the slow stop.

“Naturally, there’s been thoughts, yes,” Piastri admitted to media during the pre-race weekend FIA press conference.

“We’ve had good discussions with the team. Obviously a highly talked about moment, but yeah, you know, we’ve had a lot of discussions, clarified a lot of things, and we know how we’re going to go racing going forward, which is the most important thing.

“What’s happened is done, and I’m excited to go racing here.”

That would remain Piastri’s bottom line throughout his media availability: That contributing factor led to the orders from the team.

Piastri, Norris, and the team discussed various scenarios for the future, but the Australian driver admitted that “I can’t get into every scenario.”

“I think you know from Monza, you know, there was another factor outside of the slow pit stop, being the order we pitted in, that was a contributing factor to why we swapped,” he clarified.

“So that one, I’m quite happy to talk about, because it’s happened.

“But any other scenarios, again, you can’t plan for every single scenario that’s going to happen, but I think we’re realigned, and ultimately I respect the team’s decisions and trust that they’ll certainly do their best to make the right ones.”

Much was made of the fact that Piastri’s manager Mark Webber went to McLaren hospitality after the race to speak with his driver, with many speculating that Webber’s advice would be colored by his experiences playing second fiddle to Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull Racing. But according to Piastri, Webber didn’t say much.

“Ultimately, the biggest thing for me from Monza was, it was a weekend where I deserved to finish third.” Piastri continued.

“I didn’t deserve to finish second because of the pace I had. I was quick at certain points, but not quick enough the whole weekend.

“And ultimately, that’s kind of my main takeaway from that, what I’m trying to focus on going forwards. Mark is very much on the same page with that.

“Again, I’ve discussed with the team and with Mark about what happened, and we’re all aligned going forward.”

Piastri continued to be quizzed on all the potential variables of future team orders. He explained that, if the scenario was exactly the same as it had been in Monza, he would understand the request from McLaren — but that it’s “virtually impossible” to have the same scenario.

Further, he clarified that still stands by his radio message regarding slow pit stops being a part of racing. But there were mitigating factors in Monza.

“Obviously, in the car at the time, the context wasn’t there about what else had happened in terms of the pit stop sequencing,” he explained.

“So again, it was decided that there was another factor for the reasoning in swapping. Every situation is going to look a bit different.”

For Piastri, the fan outcry was unsurprising because “I feel like a lot of fans are quite quick to jump on things that are deemed controversial.”

But more than anything else, his belief in the sanctity of the championship remains.

“I do think we have enough freedom to control our own destiny in the championship,” Piastri stated definitively.

This weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit will be the latest step in defining those championship hopes. McLaren is expected to lock up the constructors’ title; a win for one driver and a third place for the other is all it’d need to do so. However, there are still seven races remaining in which to decide whether it will be Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri securing the honor of drivers’ champion.

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