Former Formula One team manager Peter Windsor believes it would be wise for Oscar Piastri to follow McLaren’s team order request at the Italian Grand Prix.
Piastri went ahead of his teammate Rand Norris after a slow stop due to his title rival.
Unusually, McLaren decides to stop Piastry first, despite the lack of serious threats behind Charles Leclerc.
Norris’s slow pit stop rejoined behind his rivals in the Formula 1 title as the left tire in the front was delayed.
Norris was running ahead of Piastri throughout the race, so McLaren intervened.
Piastri surrendered second after the team’s order, losing three points in his quest for the Formula 1 title.
Speaking on the Cameron CC YouTube channel, Windsor felt that Piastri was not obligated if he had a race win.
“The big difference is that this wasn’t the lead,” Windsor said. “As I said in the video yesterday, if Max Verstappen had shot Yuki Tsunoda for most of the race and dicing in 14th or something, the lead would be Rand Norris from 1 lap 1 and Oscar behind him was Rand Norris.
“What do you think Oscar Piastri said? Exactly. I don’t have a chance at all because what I really care about was P2/P3. That wasn’t a victory.”
“Bank Credit” by Piastry
The 2025 Italian Grand Prix was not the first time McLaren has used team orders.
The victory of Piastri’s Maiden F1 Grand Prix was hidden by the team’s orders.
Norris was forced to abandon his victory in Hungary after leading the pit stop phase, despite running behind the then-Piastry.
Piastri had Norris win the Sao Paulo Sprint race last year, but was given a favor later that year at the Qatar Sprint.
Windsor believes Piastri’s decision to follow the team’s order will put him in a good place for the rest of the season.
“It’s true, Oscar will get a lot of goodwill on the team,” Windsor added. “He gave him a favor, it’s like giving Rand a sprint victory in Brazil.
“It didn’t really mean much, but you get a lot of praise and credibility at McLaren.
“He gave him something harmless. As a result, he has gained a lot of credit at the bank now and Landor can’t complain about him at all. In fact, it was a very powerful thing to say to Oscar honestly, and I think Landor is probably happy.