Monza gave us a reminder that team orders haven’t gone anywhere — they’ve just learned better manners.
McLaren’s late-race call for Oscar Piastri to cede second place back to Lando Norris after a slow stop for the Briton lit up the paddock on Sunday and set off a wave of commentary, including a wry jab from Damon Hill. The 1996 World Champion joked he might have to hand his 1993 Italian Grand Prix win back to Alain Prost because his Williams teammate’s Renault engine expired that day. The point was aimed squarely at what McLaren deemed “fairness” — restoring their pre-pit order.
Here’s how it unfolded. Norris, running comfortably behind race leader Max Verstappen, was told McLaren would pit Piastri first to cover the Ferraris, but that there’d be “no undercut.” Norris questioned it, was reassured, and stayed out. Piastri’s stop was a slick 1.9s. Norris’ wasn’t — a reluctant front-left wheel nut left him for four. He rejoined behind Piastri.
Cue the uneasy bit. Piastri was instructed to hand the place back, with the message that McLaren had sequenced the stops for “team reasons” and that once Norris was back through, both could race. Piastri’s radio reply — essentially, “we said slow stops are part of racing, what’s changed?” — captured the awkwardness, but he complied without drama.
Andrea Stella later put the decision on the record as one rooted in principles, not favoritism. In short: McLaren had made Norris a commitment that pitting Oscar first wouldn’t result in a position swap, and when a slow stop broke that promise, they restored the order they believed had been negotiated before the stops — then let them go. The context, Stella insisted, was all about covering Charles Leclerc while keeping the window open for a late red flag or safety car. The priority was the result for the team; the pit sequence was part of that plan, and the intention was never to flip their cars.
Fans were split, as they always are with this stuff. Hill’s poll on X suggested a healthy majority weren’t thrilled with McLaren’s call. That’s no surprise. Team orders in a straight fight — especially between two drivers who’ve both earned their stripes this season — always touch a nerve.
On the other side of the garage door, it made sense. Teams live and die on internal agreements. Tell your lead car he won’t be undercut by his teammate, and you can’t shrug when a sticky wheel nut blows the plan. McLaren corrected it, Norris finished second, Piastri third, and Verstappen did Verstappen things up the road.
Championship-wise, that three-point swing matters. Piastri’s lead in the Drivers’ standings trimmed to 31 with eight to go is still a cushion, but it’s not a mattress. The pair have been the class of McLaren’s season alongside a Red Bull that refuses to go away, and every inter-team decision now lands with title weight.
Was it harsh on Piastri? A bit, yes. He executed, nailed the stop, and got the track position. In pure “that’s racing” logic, you could argue he deserved to keep it. But if the pre-stop condition was “no undercut” and everyone agreed, then the team was obliged to put the pieces back where they were. You can’t ask drivers to trust the wall and then move the goalposts when a gun jams.
The more interesting test comes next time. McLaren said they’ll review their principles around slow stops and how they handle them in isolation. That’s the crux: does every fumbled wheel nut trigger a reset to a pre-stop order? Or was Monza a one-off because of a pre-agreed no-undercut deal? Clarity matters now, because both Norris and Piastri are on the sharp end of a title fight and the team can’t afford bruises that linger.
What’s clear is the culture under Stella is deliberate. Protect the team interest, be explicit with the drivers, and stick to it in public even when it ruffles feathers online. It’s grown-up stuff — less box-office than a last-lap standoff, but probably how you win championships in the modern era.
And Hill? He’ll keep lobbing barbs from the cheap seats. That’s part of the fun. But somewhere in Woking, the priority is simpler: keep both cars pointing forward, keep both drivers bought in, and make sure the only thing that decides who finishes second to Verstappen on any given Sunday is the stopwatch. Not a wheel nut. Not a promise. And certainly not an X poll.
