McLaren set for post-Monza review after Norris-Piastri battle

After Max Verstappen overtook the two McLaren drivers on an alternative strategy, Piastri and Norris were able to keep up with the Dutchman as they chased a podium finish. However, once the two teammates began battling, they lost ground to the four-time world champion. After a hard-fought battle, Norris finished fourth, ahead of Piastri.

Speaking to GPblog, among others, after the race, Stella said about the situation: "In this situation we thought that for Lando to be able to have a chance on Max, he should first be able to pass Oscar. The two cars were on the same tyres, same tyre age, same cars. So we thought there was no need to interfere with the normal development of the race, we let them race. We think that was the right thing to do.

During the final laps, the two teammates came close to making contact ahead of the Roggia chicane.

Stella continued: "The moment in which Lando put the wheels on the grass. He came on the radio and made a comment like ‘he pushed me off’ or something, but actually when we reviewed it, I think we saw that the episode is much more benign than what it might have looked with the wheel on the grass."

"So, was there a better way for McLaren to give a fight to Verstappen? We will review. It wasn't obvious to us and the people and we thought that it was more important to let them race according to our philosophy of going racing," the Italian concluded.