14/09/2025
NEWS STORY
"I can't have my own success without the team having success," says Oscar Piastri as Monza debate continues.
While social media and the like is awash with theories and outright accusations, the man most affected by last weekend's controversial radio call appears to have accepted it.
"I think in the moment, obviously, I questioned it on the radio as racing drivers often do and as we get encouraged to do," Piastri tells ESPN when asked about his initial reaction to (engineer) Tom Stallard's 'request' that he give his (second) position back to his teammate following a botched pit stop.
"We said a slow pit stop was part of racing," was the Australian's initial reaction to Stallard's call. "I don't really get what changed here, but if you want me to do it, I'll do it."
When Stallard repeated the call Piastri yielded the position.
"For me, once I had the second request, for me at that point I'm always going to respect that call," insists Piastri.
Many believe that the call makes a mockery of the team's so-called Papaya Rules, a protocol that Lando Norris has since all but denied actually exists.
Though the incident, and the reaction to it, will allow broadcasters, the media and Drive to Survive the opportunity to exploit a potential drama, Piastri is keen to play down talk of a rift within the team, while insisting that he does not feel factions within the Woking outfit are working against him.
"We have had very good discussions this week about what went on and what can be made clearer, what can be improved," he says. "That's always kind of a learning process, I guess.
But yeah, ultimately I know that the team would have my best interests at heart. And ultimately, I want to protect that because I can't have my own success without the team having success. So protecting that is a very important thing for me."
Asked if the events of last weekend might cause him to take a more ruthless approach in the fight for the title, he replies: "Not at the cost of future success. Definitely not."