Team orders at McLaren? Oscar Piastri calls the team for clarification. Oscar Piastri, furious after the Australian GP, has called the entire McLaren team for clarification.

The Australian GP started as a weekend entirely in favor of the Woking-based team, and that’s exactly how it played out. From Friday onwards, both drivers confirmed what had been seen in pre-season testing in Bahrain: their car is the best on the grid. However, there is some frustration for Piastri, who was unable to secure a McLaren one-two finish. After the race, the Australian driver asked the team for clarification on possible team orders.

McLaren is starting to instill real fear. While during testing, people said, “It’s just testing,” the first race of the year showed an identical, if not even better, situation. No one—except for Max Verstappen in an incredible effort—was able to challenge the two Papaya cars over the 57 laps. Their dominance was especially evident after the Dutch driver made a mistake at Turn 12.

Within just a few laps, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had built a lead of over 10 seconds on Red Bull. At this point, the home driver began to close in, appearing more and more in his teammate’s mirrors. But as soon as the situation became clear, to avoid any trouble, the pit wall instructed Oscar not to attack, effectively freezing the positions.

Looking at how the race unfolded, one could argue that “it wouldn’t have changed much,” given that Oscar Piastri ended up on the grass exiting the penultimate corner. But the real question is: are there team orders at McLaren preventing the two drivers from racing freely? Do things go beyond the much-discussed “Papaya Rules” from Monza?

We don’t know. What we can say is that if McLaren is truly this superior to the rest, a thrilling battle between the two teammates for the drivers’ title could emerge—provided the team doesn’t prevent it. Oscar Piastri himself addressed the issue, requesting more clarity from McLaren. “I think the race and circumstances were quite extreme,” the Australian told RacingNews365.

“We were approaching lapped cars, there was only one dry line, and at that moment, we didn’t know if it would rain again. I’ll talk to the team to better understand their thinking. I just hope these calls are made for both of us, not just me.”

Regarding his mistake, Oscar Piastri had little to say. “At that point, there wasn’t much I could do to slow down. The situation changed suddenly, and I saw Lando go off, but I was already in the corner. Once you’re on gravel or grass, it becomes extremely difficult to control the car.” – the Australian driver concluded.