Lando Norris reacts to Ferrari fans’ boos at Monza: “I heard them, but I don’t understand why”. Lando Norris addressed the boos he received at Monza after McLaren’s team order involving Oscar Piastri.

The McLaren team order

Behind a dominant Max Verstappen at the Italian Grand Prix, the biggest talking point of the race was McLaren’s team order. Holding second place for most of the GP, Lando Norris dropped behind his teammate Oscar Piastri after a mistake from the British driver’s mechanics during his pit stop. However, once back on track, the Australian and current championship leader was asked to hand the position back to Norris, just as the situation had been reversed at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. Car number 81 followed the McLaren team order, eventually finishing the race in third place.

At the end of the race, as tradition goes at the ‘Temple of Speed’, the huge crowd of fans poured onto the track for the famous podium invasion. Unfortunately, when the drivers arrived, Norris was greeted with boos from a section of the spectators. The reason was likely connected to McLaren’s team order, but the British driver admitted he could not understand why he had been targeted, even though he also heard the majority of fans cheering for him. “I heard them, but I don’t know why,” he told the media. “The most important thing is that I heard more cheers than boos.”

A very different reception for Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen received a completely different welcome. The Dutch driver, who in the past had also been booed at Monza, enjoyed strong support this time. Back in 2023, Charles Leclerc even had to ask fans to stop booing Verstappen, but the atmosphere this year was the exact opposite. On the podium, the Red Bull star was celebrated with the chant ‘Du Du Du Du Max Verstappen’ and embraced by the warmth of the Italian crowd, similar to the scenes seen earlier this season at Imola during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.