McLaren took victory in the Australian Grand Prix with Lando Norris, but it could have been a one-two victory for the defending Constructors’ Champions.
The race was hit by changeable conditions, with the drivers having to pick out the best moment to make a pit stop in anticipation of the weather.
Oscar Piastri lost out to Max Verstappen at the start of the race but managed to regain second place after the Red Bull driver made an unforced error on ageing Intermediate tyres.
The Australian then closed the gap to Norris before they were due to make a pit stop, but as they reached the backmarkers he was told to ‘hold station’ by his McLaren engineer Tom Stallard.
Discussing the team order on the Australian GP post-race show on F1 TV, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has questioned why McLaren chose to make Piastri sit behind Norris on purpose.
Jolyon Palmer questions McLaren team orders for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris
Piastri was told by his team to hold station after he got to within half a second of Norris, despite the fact that he was lapping four-tenths faster per-lap.
The Australian responded by saying “Ok, but I’m faster” when Stallard said he should stay behind Norris while they pass the backmarkers.
Piastri was then told he was free to race Norris once the gap subsided to two seconds, something Palmer could not understand.
“Why the four laps though? Why four laps in, Piastri gets to half a second back with DRS [on Norris] and they say ‘Whoa, whoa, drop back’ then he gets to two seconds back and it’s like ‘race on…’ – it’s like a Safety Car in the middle of the race. I think they were jittery on the pit wall,” said Palmer.
Max Verstappen told he made error in Australian GP
McLaren’s lead was under threat at various points in the Australian GP, notably when both drivers went off track at Turn 12 and Piastri beached his car at Turn 13.
Piastri lost a lap trying to recover his car, while Norris was forced to pit after he went off track for Intermediates.
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The Dutchman stayed out for two extra laps, but Martin Brundle thinks Verstappen should have pitted a lap after Norris because the gap was 21.7 seconds.
That would have put him ahead of the Briton, who was eventually nursing floor damage on his McLaren after running off track.
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