McLaren swept the end-of-season plaudits owing to their first Constructors’ title triumph since 1998. But that doesn’t mean they had a flawless season in 2024. After their step-up in form post-Miami, the Woking outfit missed out on many race wins via strategic blunders, despite having the fastest car in the field by that point.
These baffling mistakes were also amplified via the ‘Papaya Rules’ — a fancier name by McLaren for managing drivers via team orders. It proved to be quite a controversial policy as the F1 community deemed it a vague way to manage their two competitive young drivers: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Per these Papaya Rules, Norris and Piastri were allowed to race each other as long as they did not step on each other’s toes and compromise the team’s overall result. Piastri understood why McLaren wanted him to work with his teammate as a unit. Heading into the 2025 season, however, the Australian feels that the team can trust him and Norris a lot more to race freely while prioritizing the team’s result.
“We know we are very capable of racing each other responsibly and giving each other the respect we deserve”, Piastri said, per BBC’s F1 Chequered Flag podcast.
Piastri added that as much as F1 is a team sport, wherein drivers must look to maximize their team’s benefit for the Constructors’ crown, it is also an individual sport with the drivers’ championship being on the line.
To fight for that coveted world title, each driver would look to establish themselves as the number one driver at their team, to gain priority on all fronts over their teammate. Norris and Piastri are also hustling for the same honor at McLaren, as the team has returned to the front of the field in F1.
While the Woking outfit’s intention with the Papaya Rules was ideal, their execution of the same floundered and invited a lot of criticism and recommendations from the F1 community.
How McLaren’s Papaya rules faltered in Monza
With a front-row lockout at the Italian GP last season, McLaren seemed set to take a dominant 1-2 finish in Monza. Norris, who was buoyant after securing pole, was also looking to gain points on his title rival, Max Verstappen, to solidify his championship challenge.
Everything seemed to be going to plan until the race got underway. Since McLaren had allowed both drivers to race each other — despite the notion of prioritizing Norris for his title challenge — Piastri sensed the opportunity to stamp his authority on the Briton.
And the Aussie stamped his authority in some style! Going around the outside at the Della Roggia chicane, Piastri produced a bold and marvelous move to take away the race lead from Norris, leaving the #4 driver vulnerable to Charles Leclerc in third. Even Leclerc did not waste the chance to send Norris further down the order, overtaking him at the next corner itself.
Papaya rules
And Oscar was in no mood to wait around #F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/6wnNtYF7QV
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 1, 2024
Many argued that McLaren should have instructed Piastri to secure Norris’ lead before the race itself to prioritize the Briton’s title challenge. Their implementation of the Papaya Rules to keep it a fair battle between their two drivers did not make sense, according to many, as the Aussie had a very low chance of mounting a championship challenge at that point.
While Piastri received some heat for his move, which apparently compromised Norris, he was just abiding by the team’s policy of racing hard and fair. Later in the season, the Aussie did make way for Norris at crucial times to prioritize his points gain towards his title quest.
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