Piastri insists drivers have 'freedom' to decide the title

Oscar Piastri has insisted that he and his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, are in control of their own destiny as they fight for the Formula One world championship after the pair were involved in a highly controversial swap imposed by the team at the Italian Grand Prix.

- Giles Richards

Given the drivers are in a two-horse race for the title, the question of team orders playing a potentially decisive role loomed large after Monza. Max Verstappen won the race but McLaren's decision to have Piastri return second place to Norris, after the British driver lost the position due to a slow pit stop caused by a faulty wheel gun, was contentious.

With Norris claiming second place, he gained three points on his teammate in the championship standings, narrowing the gap to 31 points. Many fans were aggrieved at the perceived manipulation of the result and the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, warned that the use of team orders in an effort to be as fair as possible to both drivers risked setting precedents that would become increasingly hard to manage in the title run-in.