Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli secured a home victory at the Italian Grand Prix while McLaren allowed their drivers to race freely without team orders.
Current world champion Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri fought a fierce late-race duel. The pair battled over fourth place during the closing stages at Monza.
Norris dropped a pair of wheels onto the grass approaching the second chicane. He immediately told the pit wall that Piastri “pushed me off” during the narrow exchange.
High Speed Perception Alters Reality
The British driver quickly abandoned the claim following the chequered flag. Norris conceded the defensive move was fair and blamed his perception at high speed.
“No, it was okay,” Norris added.
The intra-team battle continued until the final lap before the McLaren duo crossed the finish line together.
McLaren Backs Clean Racing Approach
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella fully backed the pit wall decision to let them fight. Stella noted both cars were running identical strategies on the same tyre age.
The pit wall prioritised “clean racing” rather than intervening to orchestrate a late challenge against Max Verstappen.
The Woking squad executed a strong recovery from a disappointing qualifying session where Pierre Gasly secured a maiden pole.
Further down the classification, Franco Colapinto survived a heavy spin for Alpine to finish cleanly.
Norris eventually passed Piastri at the Variante Ascari to finish fourth ahead of the Australian. The McLaren garage will now prepare for upcoming rounds in Malaysia, Austin, and Brazil.
