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Max Verstappen won the Italian Grand Prix for Red Bull, sparking controversy about McLaren’s approach to racing in the title race between their drivers.
After a slow pit stop, Oscar Piastri, who had been running in second place for the majority of the race, was forced to give second place to team-mate Lando Norris.
As they left their pit stops late in the race in an effort to gain a safety car that would give them a chance to attack Verstappen, McLaren uncharacteristically pitted Piastri before Norris.
However, when Norris stopped a lap later and Piastri had a clean stop on lap 45, his stop was delayed by four seconds due to a malfunction with a wheel gun, which had delayed him.
The team ordered the championship leader to step down because it positioned him behind Piastri, arguing that it resembled Hungary the previous year.
That was a reference to Norris allowing Piastri to pass in order for his first victory when team strategy changed their positions for tactical reasons.
Piastri claimed he disagreed, but that he still followed the order.
There will be arguments that the circumstances were different and that racing has a history of tidal gear failure.
With eight races left, Piastri’s lead over Norris is now three points, to 31.
The McLaren saga
McLaren have made an effort to keep the conflict between their two drivers as fair as possible, but their strategy was always going to cause some controversy.
That was absolutely true at Monza, where there was a frequent twist of fate that caused drivers’ races to sometimes be turned on their side.
Norris unquestionably deserved second place overall, but the team was in agony due to his pit stop issue.
In such a situation, it is typical to pit the lead driver first, but McLaren said they made the move to ensure Charles Leclerc, who had previously pitted against him using a conventional strategy, would prevail.
When Norris learned of the decision, he questioned it, claiming that Piastri would pass him if there was no undercut, which would mean that he would be able to run more quickly on his out lap. He was assured that nothing would ever happen.
Piastri was in the lead when Norris reappearanced on to the track because his stop was faultless at 1.9 seconds despite his front-right-wheeler gun having a problem and being stopped at 5.9 seconds.
Piastri was instructed to let Norris go past right away. This is a little like Hungary last year, according to his engineer Tom Stallard. For team reasons, we pitted in this order. Lando should pass before you can start racing, please.
Piastri responded, “I mean, we said a quick pit stop was a part of racing, so I don’t really understand what has changed here.” However, I’ll do it if you really want me to.
After the race, Norris remarked, “We occasionally make mistakes as a team.” “One of them today was.”
Verstappen’s outstanding drive
Verstappen called his car “a monster” a year ago as he attempted to defend his title against a rearguard.
They haven’t been competitive with McLaren in general this year other than on high-speed tracks, so Monza gave them a chance.
Verstappen won the race from the beginning with a brilliant pole position and an all-time record-setting pole position.
Verstappen cut the first chicane to keep the lead after Norris was initially challenged. In order to avoid a penalty, Red Bull instructed him to let Norris go past.
Verstappen then launched an overtaking move into the first chicane at the start of lap four, leading to a second attack and returning to Norris.
The Dutchman, who had not won since the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix nine races prior, was flawless afterward, pulling away from the McLarens without looking threatened.
A safety car that would allow them to attack Verstappen on soft tyres at the end, which McLaren had planned, never arrived, in the hopes that it would make a cheap pit stop.
An eventful opening
Verstappen edged Norris onto the grass inside the first corner before brakeing too late to make the first corner, cutting the chicane.
He remained in the lead, but the stewards immediately raised the incident, so Red Bull intervened.
Piastri started the best of the top three, but he had to back away from a challenge, which allowed Leclerc to attack him and leave Turn One.
Piastri turned his attention to him again by making a stunning turn around Turn Four.
Verstappen had a chance to attack him, but Leclerc once more passed him, this time through Curva Grande, and Piastri retreated after making an attempt pass into the second chicane.
At the start of Turn One, Piastri passed the Ferrari, and the five-minute transition became the natural order.
By that point, Piastri was still 3.5 seconds behind Norris, but he kept falling back.
Lewis Hamilton, in his first race for Ferrari at Monza, came out strong in fourth place behind Mercedes’ George Russell, who had a difficult race to finish ahead of Leclerc.
Alonso’s situation worsens
Without a suspension failure on his Aston Martin, Alonso would likely have won sixth place, or at least seventh place.
The veteran Spaniard remained in Bortoleto’s DRS for the entire first stint as they battled over sixth place after a stellar qualifying performance that put the draggy Aston Martin eighth on the grid on the fastest calendar.
Alonso then attempted to pull clear when his front suspension failed over the kerbs at the Ascari chicane after an earlier pit stop and had previously attempted to pull past the Sauber.
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