McLaren rues graining for losing out to Ferrari at Monza

F1 Grand Prix, GP Italy, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza

Despite securing a double podium finish at the thrilling Italian Grand Prix, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have been left disappointed after losing out to Ferrari at Monza.

Having secured pole position on Saturday, Lando Norris was unable to convert it into a victory.

The Briton lost two places to Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc on the opening lap, and after suffering from graining, he had to pit for a second time for new tyres, finishing third at Monza.

"A frustrating day on track. Ferrari drove a better race today, so hats off to them, they had a better car. Well done to Oscar, he did a good job getting past me, and deserved to finish ahead.

"We considered the one-stop race, but it wasn’t possible with the amount of graining I had. We knew it would be tight, and we’re disappointed with the end result, but we’ll go again in Baku."

Pushed on why McLaren abandoned any plans to pirsue a one-stop strategy which Ferrari successfully executed, Norris stated that his team was eager to stop only once, but it was not possible for the MCL38.

"I mean, we tried, we knew it was a quicker thing to do, but I think, yeah, we just killed the tyres a little bit too easily. And like Oscar said, when you're in third, it's a much easier position to just try and risk and do such a thing.

"So I don't think we can be too disappointed. I think it was a lot riskier for us to try and do it than it was for Charles, and he made it work. So, yeah, hats off to them and Ferrari and himself because the driving part makes a big difference out there.

"We thought of it and we wanted to do it. We just we couldn't today. I think it was clear yesterday. We had a good qualifying car. But today our race car was probably not quite good enough," noted Norris.

His team-mate Oscar Piastri made a bold, aggressive move on Norris on the first lap to move himself into the lead.

After leading the opening stages of the Italian Grand Prix and building up a healthy lead from Charles Leclerc, he was called in for a second pit stop while the Monegasque pursued a one-stop strategy.

The difference sent Piastri back to third place, and while he was able yo pick off Carlos Sainz to move up into second, he was unable to catch Leclerc.

"I’m not going to lie, this result hurts. We did a lot of things right today, but Charles’ strategy looked to be the right choice. From the position we were in, with the tyres looking like they did, attempting a one-stop seemed too risky.

"I’m very happy with the pace, and happy with the race I managed to deliver – but when you finish second it’s painful."

When asked to reflect on McLaren's strategy decision, Piastri said that the graining prompted the Woking-based outfit to opt for a second tyre change.

"Clearly not as seriously as I needed to. I think, for me, it was a big risk to do that. You know, the graining of the tyres has been a big topic all weekend. You know, in practice, once you got graining, it was basically game over. Even in the first stint on the Mediums, it was pretty difficult.

"And, yeah, when we made the second stop, for myself, my front left tyre was pretty heavily grained and, you know, I was going slower and slower.

"So it seemed like a sensible decision to pit again. Yeah, you know, I guess nobody really expected the graining to clear up on Charles, from what I heard. So yeah, in hindsight, clearly stopping once was the right thing to do.

"But from that point in the race with all the information that we'd gathered through the weekend, it seemed incredibly risky and. You know, that's kind of the blessing and the curse of leading the race or, you know, being at the front, full stop. You know, the guys behind you can react to what you do.

"And, you know, for Charles, if he did a two-stop, he would have locked in third. And if he did a one-stop and fell off the cliff, he still would have finished third.

"But, of course, he pulled the one-stop off and Ferrari look like the hero today. Yeah, obviously it hurts at the moment, but I think in the moment it was the right thing to do," concluded Piastri.