Norris makes telling Piastri admission after huge missed opportunity at Monza

McLaren Formula 1 star Lando Norris has suggested his team-mate Oscar Piastri very much caught him off guard at the Italian Grand Prix, making a telling admission in the process.

Norris started on pole at Monza, with Piastri P2, and led through the first few corners at the historic circuit.

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However, Piastri made a bold move into the second chicane, forcing Norris to hit the brakes to avoid colliding as his team-mate took the lead.

To make matters worse, Norris was forced to slow so much that eventual race-winner Charles Leclerc was able to make his way through.

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McLaren championship hopes damaged

Norris' race engineer Will Joseph later told the Brit over team radio that the pair would be allowed to follow 'papaya rules', suggesting that they were allowed to race each other despite fighting for both world championship titles.

Norris is the only driver that can realistically beat Verstappen to the 2024 drivers' title, and many pundits have called for the team to prioritize his championship fight.

Speaking after the race, Norris suggested that he would do things differently if the situation were to arise again, suggesting he could be more aggressive with his team-mate in future.

"I feel he got way too close for comfort," he told Sky Sports.

"We could both have easily been out in that first corner if I broke one meter later. If I could rewind, I would do stuff slightly differently. But it is what it is.

"Charles won by two seconds in the end and the fact he got ahead probably gained him two seconds over the course of the race.

"We couldn't achieve a one-stop as our degradation was too high on the front tires. That is a weakness for us at the minute.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing," he added. "We always review things.

"We are doing a very good job. Today was not our day and we didn't get things correct but I wouldn't say we got them wrong either.

"I certainly couldn't have done a one-stop as a second car, which is tougher than being the first car.

"Trying to keep with Oscar in the dirty air meant I had to use a lot more tire. That is just the price I paid."

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