Nico Rosberg gives his verdict on McLaren's call to swap Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the F1 Italian GP

Former F1 driver Nico Rosberg revealed that he was "happy" with McLaren switching Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri during the 2025 Italian GP. He claimed that Norris had done a better job than his teammate throughout the weekend and that this would make for a much more exciting championship race.

McLaren advised Norris to pit at the end of the 45th lap for a soft tire. However, he suggested that his teammate, running behind him in P3 at the time, should be pitted first. The team accepted, further ensuring him that there will be no undercut from Piastri. Shortly after they pitted the latter, they also told him that he would be free to fight Norris after his stop.

But Lando Norris's pit stop turned out to be a disaster for the team. It took them 5.9 seconds to change the tire after the front left wheel faced some issues. Owing to the mistake, the team then asked Oscar Piastri to swap places with Norris, giving him the P2 back.

This decision was largely criticized on social media; however, 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg seemed to be in support of the same. Speaking on the Sky F1 podcast, he claimed that Norris had been stronger than his teammate throughout the weekend at Monza, and hence, he deserved that place.

"I was happy they did that because I am, with my hat that I have on, is I want a super exciting Formula 1 championship until the very end," Rosberg said. "So, I was happy that in that case Lando had the opportunity to get the deserved points since he personally did a better job than Oscar in the Monza weekend. So, I thought it was good that they did that."

Shortly after the radio call, Oscar Piastri sounded a little confused regarding the situation. However, speaking to the media after the race, he agreed that Norris had done a commendable job throughout the weekend and hence deserved the place.

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McLaren would have done "exactly the same" if the swap was for Oscar Piastri, claims Lando Norris

Lando Norris during the 2025 F1 Italian GP (Getty Images)

This isn't the first time McLaren has swapped their drivers. During the 2024 Hungarian GP, Lando Norris was asked to give the lead back to Oscar Piastri. However, the situation was different at the time.

What happened in Monza seemed more like a mistake from the team, owing to the slow pit stop, but many argue that it is a part of racing. While reflecting on the situation that was created, Norris argued that the team would have done the same if it were Oscar Piastri in his place. He also claimed that it was the "right thing" to do.

"It’s not what I want nor what the team wants. It makes things complicated, and complicated the positions," Lando Norris said (via PlanetF1).

"But it’s what we all as a team, both drivers decided was the right thing to do if it happened. It had to be corrected. If it had happened to Oscar. we would have done exactly the same."

Oscar Piastri still leads the World Championship; however, Lando Norris was able to narrow the gap after finishing ahead of him in Monza. With eight more races remaining this season, the championship battle is expected to get more intense.