Carlos Sainz supports Piastri: “Right to return the undercut, not everyone does it.” A jab at Ferrari?. Carlos Sainz commented on the duel for the Hungarian GP win between the two McLaren cars.

Orders from above
The main topic of discussion following the recent Hungarian Grand Prix at the 4.381-kilometre Hungaroring in Budapest was undoubtedly the McLaren team orders that allowed Oscar Piastri to secure his first Formula 1 career victory at the ‘expense’ of Lando Norris. The Australian had led from the start and throughout the first part of the race but had to give up the lead after the second stop, ‘suffering’ the undercut from his McLaren teammate.

Lando Norris was stopped early to protect his position from Lewis Hamilton, but this allowed him to ‘snatch’ the lead from Oscar Piastri. The team, after significant insistence, convinced the Briton to relinquish the lead, rejoining in second place. Carlos Sainz, who was Lando Norris’ teammate at McLaren in 2019-2020, also shared his opinion on the matter when questioned by Spanish journalists at the end of the Hungaroring race:

Carlos Sainz’s opinion on the McLaren team order at the Hungaroring
Carlos Sainz, however, sided with Oscar Piastri in this instance, deeming the team order imposed by McLaren to be correct: “From what they told me, they did what needed to be done. If you get a free undercut on your teammate, you have to give it back.” Then the Spanish driver concluded with what seemed to be a jab at Ferrari: “Something not all teams have done in the past.”

Last year in Hungary, Carlos Sainz was indeed a victim of an undercut by the Maranello team that ‘favored’ Charles Leclerc at his expense. After that race, however, the Spanish driver justified the Maranello team – at least in front of the media – explaining that Charles Leclerc was ‘compensated’ for a slow pit stop.