McLaren boss highlights "values and culture" after controversial Oscar Piastri - Lando Norris swap

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella discussed Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris's place swap during the final laps of the 2025 F1 Italian GP and highlighted the team's "value and culture." This controversial decision came after Norris had an extremely slow stop, making him lose position.

On the race's 45th lap, Norris was asked to box for soft tires; however, he suggested that his teammate, who was running behind him, should be pitted first. The team accepted this and reassured him that there would be no undercut. A lap after Piastri's perfect stop, Norris boxed and had a 5.9-second pit stop as his front left tire faced some issues. This saw him lose position and drop to P3, behind his teammate.

Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri was earlier told that both drivers would be free to fight once Lando Norris was on the exit of the pit lane. But shortly after, the team asked Piastri to swap places with Norris and let him get into P2. While he seemed to be a little agitated with the decision, he complied, similar to how Norris did in Hungary, 2024.

Reviewing the race and how the events went down in Monza, Andrea Stella mentioned that this driver swap was a show of the culture that the team holds.

"We also saw the values and principles we have in our team culture, with Oscar giving the position back to Lando before they were allowed to race again until the Chequered Flag," he said in a team statement.

Piastri still leads the championship standings, and while he did sound a little confused on the team radio after the orders were delivered, he clarified himself later, mentioning that he understood the situation.

---

Oscar Piastri justifies the swap with Lando Norris

While there was a commotion amongst fans regarding the swap between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the latter seemed to be quite relaxed regarding the same, considering this could be a crucial deciding factor for the championship heading towards the season's end.

Speaking to the media after the race, Piastri claimed that Norris deserved the place since he qualified ahead and had held the position for almost the entire Grand Prix. He added that there were some discussions remaining with the team.

"There were clearly valid reasons for swapping back," F1 quoted Oscar Piastri. "Lando qualified ahead and was ahead for the whole race, so I get that. There’s just some things we need to discuss."

Despite the dominance McLaren has shown so far in the season, Max Verstappen won the race owing to the low-downforce setup that is required for Monza. McLaren has been extremely fast around corners; however, this track was more suited for top speed, and as the level equalled for them and Red Bull, Verstappen clinched the opportunity.