"Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have both insisted that protecting their teammates was central to McLaren's use of team orders at the Italian Grand Prix and that they were focused on long-term success that would be fostered by doing the right thing, despite criticism after they were instructed to switch places at Monza. The Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, however, also noted McLaren's adherence to such strongly held principles of fairness for their drivers"
"We've said many, many times now that we don't want the chance of this success just for this year, said Piastri. We're both at McLaren for a very long time and protecting the people around us that give us this opportunity is a very important thing. It's easy enough to put yourself second at times like that. We want it for as long as possible and protecting the people includes the people doing the pit stops. It's not a very nice feeling, I would imagine."
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri said protecting teammates was central to McLaren's team orders at the Italian Grand Prix and that long-term success required doing the right thing. McLaren instructed Piastri to return second place to Norris after Norris lost position because of a slow pit stop caused by a faulty wheel gun. Max Verstappen won the race, and Piastri now leads the championship by 31 points. Team principal Andrea Stella and both drivers stated the swap aligned with agreed racing principles and with a desire to foster a positive team environment. Both drivers emphasized not wanting any squad member to feel responsible for the result. Mercedes principal Toto Wolff warned that strict fairness principles could create headaches if Norris and Piastri contend closely for the title.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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