Oscar Piastri was behind teammate Lando Norris for much of the Italian Grand Prix until it was time to box for new tires. Given the fact that he was running second to Piastri's third, Norris was given priority when it came to deciding whether he would box before or after Piastri, and he opted to go second, only if there was no threat of getting undercut.
Piastri had a swift pit stop, lasting only a season-best 1.9 seconds. As Norris boxed the very next lap, the pit crew made an error, which cost the British driver valuable time, and his stop lasted 5.9 seconds. Piastri ended up passing Norris and was ahead by a few seconds before being told to give back the position by McLaren.
Before begrudgingly giving the position back to his teammate, Piastri asked whether a slow pit stop was merely a part of racing and implied that it had been considered such in previous intrateam discussions.
Piastri, Norris, and the team had seemingly discussed the rules of racing to make a championship fight, and based on Piastri's response, this decision contradicted those rules. What has become a highly controversial decision and has generated significant backlash from the fanbase and the media has also led to Piastri being viewed under a more scrutinized microscope.
Piastri exposed a flaw within his mentality
So far this season, we have known the world championship leader to be a rather cool, calm, and collected person both on and off the race track. However, the way Piastri handled the situation in Monza, amidst a tight championship battle, showed that he may not be willing to fight for his own beliefs.
With just a handful of races to go and the gap between the two McLaren drivers sitting at 34 points heading into Monza, this swap resulted in a six-point swing (31 instead of 37). That could make a huge difference by the time the season concludes, and it could be something Piastri regrets not fighting back on if he happens to lose the championship to Norris in a heartbreaking fashion in Abu Dhabi.
While the Australian driver has shown that he is capable of leading the championship, he lacks the ruthlessness that has made other drivers great.
Max Verstappen, winner of four world titles in a row, was quite amused by McLaren swapping positions between their drivers, especially since they're really only battling each other.
He found it quite shocking that it occurred largely due to the slow stop from Norris, and when someone who is quickly turning into one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers ever basically finds it comical above all else, that reaction speaks volumes.
As Formula 1 heads into the final eight races of the 2025 season, there is no saying where, if anywhere, McLaren will draw the line in making such decisions. But another question worth asking is whether we will see Piastri act the same way if a similar situation arises again.