F1 presenter, journalist and author Will Buxton said McLaren not swapping their drivers at Monza “baffles me”, in a lengthy questioning of the team’s tactics.
Oscar Piastri passed Lando Norris on the first lap of the Italian Grand Prix with a daring move at the Variante della Roggia on Sunday, eventually going on to finish second ahead of his team-mate as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc executed a one-stop strategy to take a superb victory.
Will Buxton gives McLaren verdict: ‘They’ve got to be smarter’
Debate has continued since the chequered flag fell about whether McLaren should fully back Norris in the World Championship fight against Max Verstappen, who remains 62 points in front with eight races to go in a comparatively struggling Red Bull.
For his part, however, Piastri has not given up on his own hopes of fighting for the Drivers’ title – though at 106 points behind top spot, he would need a significant turnaround if he were to mount a championship challenge at this stage.
With Norris having a smaller deficit, Buxton joined the calls for McLaren to have already put their backing behind the driver with more points, saying the team has “got to be smarter” in how it goes about trying to reel in Verstappen and Red Bull.
“It just doesn’t make sense to me that you allow your drivers to fight,” Buxton said on F1 TV.
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