Unexpected; Lando Norris just terminate his contract with McLaren and announce leaving….
Lando Norris criticises McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri over first-lap overtake at Italian GP
Lando Norris failed to maximise his opportunity to make ground on Max Verstappen at the Italian GP; Norris started on pole but finished third after being overtaken by McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri on the first lap at Monza; Verstappen leads Norris by 62 points with eight rounds remaining
Lando Norris criticised Oscar Piastri for getting “way too close for comfort” in pulling off an opening-lap overtake on his McLaren team-mate on the first lap of the Italian Grand Prix.
McLaren were perfectly positioned to control the race as pole-sitter Norris and Piastri held their positions at the first corner, but the Australian appeared to surprise his team-mate by going around the outside into Turn 4 and earning the inside line at the second part of the chicane.
Having been forced off line, Norris also lost second to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who went on to win the race after gambling on a one-stop strategy, with the McLarens finishing behind after two-stopping.
Charles won by two seconds in the end and the fact he got ahead probably gained him two seconds over the course of the race.
“We couldn’t achieve a one-stop as our degradation was too high on the front tyres. That is a weakness for us at the minute.”
Expanding on the incident later while sat alongside Piastri in the top three drivers’ press conference, Norris suggested he had driven cautiously to avoid contact with his team-mate.
