Media don't hold back on McLaren: 'Record-breaking self-destruction'

La Gazzetta dello Sport

The Italian newspaper opens with praise for Leclerc, who won for the second time at Monza. The Monegasque also won Ferrari's home race in 2019. "But then he had only just arrived at Ferrari, accompanied by the recklessness of someone who had nothing to lose. This time he triumphed in a much more deliberate way, with a strategic choice that required imagination and courage in devising it (together with his engineers), but which could not be done without a top driver, capable of making it concrete and winning with lucidity and outstanding tyre management."

"Monza confirmed all McLaren's philosophical shortcomings in the face of a world championship that can and - given the current value of their car and Red Bull's problems - perhaps should be won. The team has been fumbling for months now and failing to take advantage of the opportunities that have presented themselves. Seeing Piastri slip past Norris on the first lap (also losing his position to Leclerc) and not letting him take second place on the final lap is an example of truly record-breaking self-destruction. Team orders are annoying to impose, but losing titles that can be won is certainly much worse."

Marca

"Ferrari played with a superior car as McLaren and gave away a victory. When McLaren said there was no number 1 and number 2 - from the mouth of team boss Andrea Stella - it was so, incredible as it may seem with a title at stake and a very prominent driver. Perhaps Piastri did not realise that Norris is the one who can win the title," writes the Spanish newspaper. "But it was 'Norriscide' at Monza because he did not prioritise Lando's options, and that could cost him dearly in the fight for the title. He is on track to repeat what happened in 2007: throwing away the title with the best car. We will see if he will not also repeat the internal bickering."

The Guardian

Britain's The Guardian compares the situation at McLaren to the scenes seen in an acclaimed war movie. "If the streaming smoke from the flares lent the scene something of an air of Apocalypse Now, for McLaren, whose drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were beaten into second and third by Leclerc, their dejected faces said it all: the horror, the horror…" the newspaper quotes a quote from the film.

"The chance of a one-two had slipped through their fingers and worse still Norris’s hopes of making a sizeable dent in Max Verstappen’s championship lead fell by the wayside, too. If he manages to take the title to the wire, McLaren’s decisions in Monza will be under intense scrutiny."

AS

Spain's AS speaks of nothing less than 'harakiri' (the Japanese word for a traditional form of suicide) at McLaren. The newspaper does not understand why McLaren allowed Piastri to make a second pit stop and thus let a certain victory slip away. "Under pressure from Leclerc, he had to make a second stop. The stragglers also stopped and that forced McLaren to make the biggest mistake: Piastri had a huge lead but was still asked to make his second stop on lap 39 of 53, forcing him to make up almost 15 seconds in 14 laps. The simulation should have given the MCL38 a two-second per lap lead in those conditions."

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton