Oscar Piastri says obeying team orders from McLaren is important for the future success of the team and protects some of the personnel providing the drivers with race-winning machinery.
McLaren told Piastri to move over for Lando Norris after a slow pit stop cost Norris a position to his teammate late in the Italian Grand Prix. The call was designed to keep the drivers’ championship fight between the two as fair as possible, with McLaren deeming the slow stop to be out of the hands of either driver, and Piastri says he sees a bigger picture when respecting such a request.
“We’ve said many times that we don’t want the chance of success just for this year,” Piastri said. “There’s a big regulation change next year – we don’t know how competitive we’re going to be, and we don’t know how competitive anyone’s going to be.
“Ultimately, we want the best chance at winning championships for as long as we’re Formula 1 drivers, and we’re both at McLaren for a very long time. 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.
“If we were fighting very closely for the whole race, then it’s slightly different, but Lando was ahead by a few seconds the whole race, so there’s no concern for me with that.
“Again, we don’t just want this year to fight for a championship; we want it for as long as possible. Protecting the people, that includes the people doing the pit stops – it’s not a very nice feeling [making a mistake], I would imagine. It’s important to protect all the people that we have because that’s what gives us a championship hope for years to come.”
Norris backed up Piastri’s point of view, saying the work being done at this point in the driver relationship is designed to try and provide the best foundations for long-term success.
“The team is the priority,” Norris said. “The team is number one, then the drivers are second. That’s how it works. Normally, when you see [drivers] who don’t have enough respect for the team and the opportunities the team gives, it doesn’t normally last long.
“You see that with plenty of other teams, whether it’s been Red Bull, Ferrari, or Mercedes. We want to try and be in this position for a longer period of time than what they have been at the top. Still early days – it’s only our second year of fighting for wins.
“But like Oscar said, the team gives us these opportunities. Without the team, then we’re just fighting for tenth, and none of us want that. So team and the morale, the spirit of the team, is priority, and we’re below that.”
