McLaren team orders in Italy: Oscar Piastri denied opportunity to capitalize on DHL Fastest Pit Stop

Max Verstappen put in a dominant performance at the Italian Grand Prix, but the reporting of his third victory at Monza was somewhat eclipsed by the controversy surrounding Lando Norris’s botched pit stop and the resulting McLaren team orders.

Verstappen was comfortably in the lead when he switched from medium to hard tires on lap 38. The two McLarens behind him – Norris in the forefront – opted for soft tires a few laps later.

On lap 46, Oscar Piastri was the first to pit in a move to secure third place ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The pit crew completed the stop in 1.91 seconds, improving on the previous fastest pit stop record of the 2025 season. The previous record of 1.94 seconds had also been set by McLaren.

In contrast to Hungary, where the team serviced both drivers in 1.94 seconds, they took a full 5.87 seconds to get Norris back on track at Monza. There was a problem with the wheel gun on the front left, and the mechanic needed three attempts to get it sorted.

Norris lost second place to Piastri due to the long pit stop, prompting McLaren to instruct its drivers to swap places on lap 49. Piastri duly complied to let Norris past. The McLarens then went on to secure second and third place behind race winner Max Verstappen.