Battle of the second chicane: Was Norris really “too cautious” against Piastri?

For once that Lando Norris, who started from pole position, maintained his first place at the first corner... only to lose it at the second chicane! Accustomed to difficult starts, the Briton had nevertheless taken a good momentum at the lights out, maintaining the advantage at the exit of the first chicane at Monza.

However, at the entrance to the second chicane, the poleman was surprised by a daring attack fromOscar piastri from the outside, a risky maneuver but one that paid off for the Australian… helped by the (forced?) cooperation of Lando Norris to avoid a collision. Disturbed by his teammate's overtaking, the English driver also lost a place to Charles Leclerc at the exit of the chicane, finding himself 3rd at the end of the first lap.

PIASTRI TAKES THE LEAD OF THE RACE FROM HIS TEAMMATE 🤯🤯#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/drX43Gxbf7

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) September 1, 2024

A maneuver that conditioned Lando Norris' entire race: the Briton had to work hard and attempt two undercuts to regain the advantage over Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, destroying his tires in the process. Ultimately, the Monegasque's one-stop strategy proved to be the right one, while the double Grand Prix winner had to settle for a disappointing 3rd place given the performance of the McLaren on the Lombard track. A result all the more frustrating since, without Oscar Piastri's attack, Lando Norris could have had a totally different race in the lead... but with what ifs, we can change the world.

Norris wanted to avoid the crash…

Inevitably, this attack between McLarens was at the centre of discussions on Sunday afternoon after the race, particularly in the press conference. Questioned on his teammate's manoeuvre and his weak resistance, Lando Norris confided that he could have "brake a little later" but that would have put the two orange cars in a difficult situation.

“Sometimes it’s easier said than done. Oscar obviously braked at the limit and gave me space. I did my best to avoid anything else happening at that point., explains the Briton. But at the same time, if I brake two metres later, you don't know and you can't predict. Two metres later and it could have been an accident. The easiest thing is to brake much later, force him out and treat him like anyone else. I obviously took my time. I saw that we had a huge gap behind, so maybe I was a bit too cautious and I paid the price.

…and Piastri took advantage of it

From Oscar Piastri's point of view, the overtaking attempt was clean and that there was no counter-indication from McLaren to prevent him from attacking his teammate. Later in the race, we would even hear the code name "Papaya Rules" to indicate to the two drivers that they were within their rights to attack each other. “I braked later and went around on the outside. We both got away with it. I knew once I braked I had a little bit of a lead and I knew I had the right to stay on the outside. Ultimately, for 38 laps of that race, it put me in position to win the race. So for me, it was just a good first lap.”, Oscar Piastri confided at a press conference, his face closed.

All this raises the question of the behaviour of the two McLaren drivers in this first lap at Monza: was Lando Norris really too cautious against Oscar Piastri? Should he have fought more fiercely against his teammate, at the risk of sending the two Papayes into the scenery? With a world championship in mind – with a team that still refuses to follow team orders to favour it – Lando Norris would certainly have been better advised to defend his position.

However, given the greater degradation of the tires on the No. 4 than on the No. 81, and the pace of the Ferrari on worn tires at the end of the race on the one-stop strategy, did the Briton really have the weapons to fight for victory? We will never have the answers to these questions but one thing is certain: if McLaren wants to give itself the best chance of the title, then action must be taken quickly between its two drivers. Waiting would then be the worst enemy of the British team…

ALSO READ > Piastri disappointed after his 2nd place at Monza: “It hurts a lot”