Ex-F1 Driver Warns McLaren After Team Orders on Oscar Piastri at Italian GP

Jolyon Palmer asserted that McLaren will not be in peace following team orders on Oscar Piastri to let Lando Norris through at the Italian GP.

Ex-F1 Driver Warns McLaren After Team Orders on Oscar Piastri at Italian GP

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

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McLaren found themselves in a tough spot at the Italian GP. The Woking-based team was forced to issue team orders on Oscar Piastri after a botched pitstop for Lando Norris. This sparked outrage amongst fans after the race. Now, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has asserted that things will not get easy for the British squad following this decision.

At Monza, Lando Norris lost track position to Oscar Piastri after a slow pitstop. Before the tire change, Norris was assured that he would not be undercut by Piastri who was brought to the pits a lap earlier. However, after the slow pitstop, McLaren decided to let Norris pass Piastri to keep the racing fair, since both drivers are fighting each other for the world title. The Australian driver was not really pleased to be forced to give up second place to his teammate.

Jolyon Palmer insisted that the situation will take a toll on Oscar Piastri. Moreover, McLaren’s leadership will not be able to move on quickly either. The former Renault driver pointed out that in Formula 1, drivers need to claim everything that they can get. Palmer reckoned that the situation at McLaren between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will soon reach a tipping point. This has also been the case in the past, such as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg‘s infamous rivalry during the Turbo Hybrid era at Mercedes.

It’ll weigh heavily on him [Piastri], won’t it? The team will now start to think, ‘did we definitely handle that right in Monza?’ You have to bang the table for everything that you can get. I don’t know if this is going to be the one where it really comes to fruition, but at some point this year, it just has to because of the history of the F1 title battles. Surely something has to give.

Jolyon Palmer said on F1 Nation podcast

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to doubt everything at McLaren

F1 rivalries are never easy, particularly within the same team. A driver’s teammate is their first rival on the grid, since both cars are equal. This makes things even more tricky during a championship fight as both drivers want to gain an advantage over each other. This will be the case between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris according to Palmer.

Oscar Piastri, Zak Brown and Lando Norris (via Getty)
Oscar Piastri, Zak Brown and Lando Norris (via Getty)

Jolyon Palmer highlighted that the coming race at Baku will not be easy for both McLaren drivers. Piastri and Norris will continue doubting themselves and the team over every single aspect, be it the car parts, pitstops or race strategy. In recent races, Lando Norris has had slower pitstops than Oscar Piastri. At first, this might just be a coincidence, but the situation could create doubts within the Briton. Palmer asserted that both the McLaren drivers will continue to think like this in the coming weeks. This might result in either of them becoming just a little more fierce on-track.

Because you’re driving the same car. You want an equal opportunity, but you’re thinking, ‘Am I getting the love of the team?’ ‘Am I getting the new parts, the best strategy, the best pit stops?’ Why are Lando’s pit stops routinely fractionally slower than Oscar’s or very much slower in Monza? And you start to think, ‘why are these things not quite falling in my favour?’ Both of them will be thinking that. Will we see one of them be a little bit more killer in Baku?

Jolyon Palmer explained

Certainly, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are not going to back down against one another. Both drivers will be pushing themselves to the limit next weekend in Baku. Piastri currently enjoys a 34-point lead in the standings. However, a couple of bad races can turn the tide towards Norris.

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