McLaren Continues Streak of Long Pit Stops
The 2025 Italian Grand Prix finished with a podium identical to the starting grid lineup. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took first, having defended his pole position, followed by the boys in orange, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in second and third, respectively. While all three maintained a solid pace for the duration of the circuit, one moment in the pit lane nearly resulted in Norris and Piastri swapping positions. Had it not been for a team order, Norris would have been in third place instead.
On lap 47 at Monza, Norris followed Piastri into the pit lane, expecting to keep his second-place position upon reentry to the track. However, the pit took a surprisingly long time, with trouble replacing the front left tire resulting in the stop taking more than four seconds, exceptionally slow. Norris re-entered the track behind Piastri, in third place. Acknowledging the mistake, McLaren’s race engineers asked for the two switch positions and then continued racing, which Piastri would later affirm was the correct decision.
Video footage from Norris’s car shows that the initial tire swap was done quickly, but there was an issue with the front left tire. After replacing the tire, Norris waited for several seconds before the engineer noticed and corrected the issue. This isn’t the first time McLaren has struggled with the front left tire specifically. Issues arose previously for Piastri in Hungary, and this season has seen several pit stops from McLaren exceeding the three-second mark. It’s an unusual pattern for the team awarded the DHL Fastest Pit Stop many times this season, including in Hungary. Many fans are calling for more practice for the engineers to avoid a bigger issue.
Ultimately, the trend of slow stops doesn’t make much impact on the race. McLaren still dominates the Constructor’s Standings with Piastri in the lead and Norris close behind, even with Verstappen taking the win at Monza today. The team orders were an unfortunate necessity to keep the integrity of the race and were fair to both drivers, as they have in turn agreed upon. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t cause for concern. Had another team been in second instead of Piastri, Norris would have had to fight to regain his position, so while the impact in Monza was minor, it could lead to problems further on in the season.
