Ex-F1 Driver Slams McLaren for ‘Robbing’ Fans with Team Orders to Help Lando Norris at Italian GP

Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos declared that McLaren robbed fans at the Italian GP by making Oscar Piastri give up position to Lando Norris.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Lando Norris and McLaren stirred controversy at the Italian GP. The British team implemented team orders during the race, demanding Oscar Piastri to give back track position to the 25-year-old. This decision was met with immense scrutiny by fans and pundits alike. Now, former F1 driver Robert Doornbos suggests that the team orders robbed fans of real racing.

During the Italian GP, Lando Norris was in second place, right behind Max Verstappen. While Oscar Piastri was in P3. After the pitstops, Piastri jumped Norris since the Briton faced an unusual delay during his stop. McLaren seemingly found this to be unfair, and instructed the Australian driver to give back the position to Norris. The team’s logic was to give a fair chance for both drivers to fight for the title.

Robert Doornbos made it clear that fans feel robbed by this decision. He compared the situation with Ferrari’s infamous 2002 Austrian GP, when Rubens Barrichello was forced to give up the win for Michael Schumacher. Doornbos pointed out that in recent years, F1 teams have reduced such decisions from the pitwall. Yet, it appears that McLaren is looking to bring back those dark days of the sport with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

It feels, as a fan, that you’re robbed. The worst situations we’ve ever seen was obviously Ferrari and in the Michael Schumacher era with Rubens Barrichello, driving his *** off in Austria. Luckily we haven’t had that in recent years, but now McLaren is going in that way, because they’re trying to orchestrate it
Robert Doornbos said on the Pit Talk podcast

‘Talent Not Lost,’ Alain Prost Defends Lewis Hamilton over Dismal Ferrari run

Robert Doornbos questions future Lando Norris position swap with Oscar Piastri

The whole point of McLaren’s controversial call was to give a level-playing field to both drivers. Considering this, it is likely that Oscar Piastri should get similar support if he finds himself stuck in a similar situation. But things don’t seem to be so simple for Robert Doornbos.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via PA Images)

The former F1 driver outlined a scenario where it was Piastri who has a botched pitstop, allowing Lando Norris to get ahead. However, this time, there are a couple of more cars between them. Doornbos rhetorically asked whether Norris would willingly fall back just to return the favor to his Australian teammate.

What happens, in the next race, if there’s a slow stop for Oscar, but he’s two positions behind Lando in the race? Is Lando going to wait for him then to give the position back?
Robert Doornbos added

Certainly, the Italian GP team orders will remain a major talking point in the F1 paddock in the coming weeks. Even Max Verstappen was amused with McLaren’s decision. Fans are wondering whether it’s truly a fair fight between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, or is Norris the favorite at the Woking-based team.

Tags: Lando Norris Oscar Piastri robert doornbos

#About the Author

Armaan Agarwal

(3066 Articles Published)

Armaan Agarwal is a Motorsport Sub-editor and Content Manager at Firstsportz. He has written over 2500 articles with around 1000 edited pieces under his belt. Armaan has years of experience in the field of journalism, having followed Formula 1 and NASCAR for almost a decade. Nico Rosberg's title victory at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP against Lewis Hamilton remains engraved in his memory. He started his journey with his own motorsport blog in 2017. At Firstsportz, Armaan provides deep insight into the sport for fans through his special editorial pieces. Armaan has several other skills, including social media content creation, script writing, and debating. He completed his Bachelors of Arts in Mass Communication with a gold medal from St. Xavier’s University Kolkata. Presently, he is pursuing his Post Graduation in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute with a keen eye at the ever-evolving dynamics of a newsroom. Apart from motorsport, he is an avid reader and keeps himself up to date with current affairs.

Comments

Please login to join the discussion.

Be the first to comment!