**Nico Rosberg Critiques McLaren’s Team Orders: “Hurting Lando Norris,” but Ferrari’s Win Unrelated**

Nico Rosberg's perspective on the McLaren team orders controversy

Nico Rosberg evaluates the competition between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

Nico Rosberg asserts that McLaren's choice to allow their drivers to compete against each other is "harming" Lando Norris.

However, he maintained that Charles Leclerc's victory for Ferrari at the F1 Italian Grand Prix wasn't solely due to the choices made by McLaren's leadership.

Norris began the race in the leading position, but his teammate Oscar Piastri passed him during the first lap, putting him at a disadvantage. He was unable to regain his position and lost the opportunity to make a significant impact on Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship.

Former Formula 1 champion Rosberg reviewed McLaren's strategy of treating both drivers equally for Sky Sports.

"Papaya's policy is to compete, but to do so with fairness," stated Rosberg.

Sources indicate that Lando believed Oscar exceeded the acceptable boundaries during their contest at Turn 4. He felt the move was not entirely within the rules.

"Intense debates are expected within the McLaren team facilities."

"It's quite challenging to handle. It's a delicate balance. You can outline the guidelines, but did Oscar exceed the boundaries set by the Papaya rules?"

"Oscar performed excellently. He vacated the area and executed his task remarkably well."

Andrea Stella, the team principal of McLaren, was employed at Ferrari during the time when Michael Schumacher was the unequivocal top driver.

However, according to Rosberg, he is not responsible for McLaren's intriguing approach of giving equal treatment to both drivers.

He mentioned that this philosophy is directed from the highest levels, originating from Zak Brown.

"We have two top drivers as that's central to McLaren's long-standing philosophy. Andrea is putting that strategy into action."

“They believed they had a chance to win until the final moments.”

"The team allowed their drivers to compete against each other, which made for an entertaining and thrilling experience. Ultimately, Ferrari took a gamble with their strategy and managed to outsmart their competitors."

"The issue revolves around Lando and the drivers' championship. The team has chosen to continue treating both drivers as equals, without giving Lando any special preference. While that's the decision they've made, it's clearly impacting Lando negatively."

Is McLaren playing it safe?

Norris trails Verstappen by 62 points, even though Verstappen tops the drivers’ standings despite experiencing a slump in performance.

Karun Chandhok stated that, in order to compete for the drivers' championship, every point should be awarded to Lando.

"Conversely, allowing them to compete freely has benefited Oscar. He delivered an excellent performance and was the quickest McLaren driver today."

"In the long run, it’s more advantageous to have Oscar on your side, too."

Rosberg commented: "Lando is in excellent form. His driving is impressive and his confidence is soaring."

"It's inspiring that he senses 'I have an opportunity'. He remains the less favored competitor."

"Lando made an error at Turn 4. Positioned on the inside, he had the situation under control but played it too cautiously."

Is McLaren overly cautious about taking chances?

In response, Rosberg stated: "Calling them too cautious? That's hard to determine. They were unexpectedly caught off guard today. No one could have foreseen Ferrari's strategy being successful. I wouldn't label them as such based on today's events."

"Afraid of risks? They allow their drivers to compete fiercely! They raced side by side, and Lando nearly lost control while dueling with Oscar."

Rosberg asserted that McLaren's internal competition during the first lap was not the reason they lost the race.

"Not exactly. Oscar had an excellent performance in the race. They maximized the potential of the car today," he commented.

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