Last night’s Singapore Formula One Grand Prix saw the latest instance of the ongoing struggles between McLaren F1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The pair started third and fourth, respectively, behind George Russell on pole and Max Verstappen in second.
A bold move from Norris on the opening lap saw wheel-to-wheel contact between the teammates, Piastri narrowly missing the wall. The move defined the race, bringing up a lot of questions about Papaya Rules and what this means for both drivers’ championships.
What are Papaya Rules?
Papaya Rules are McLaren’s directive for their drivers to race clean and hard without making contact. Making sure to remember that the other driver is your teammate and F1 is a team sport, so as not to screw them over, because you will rely on them at some point.
When it comes to crunch time in the championship, most teams will put in place team orders to prioritise the main championship contender. Team orders can come in many forms: swapping the driver’s position during a race, giving pit priority or getting a tow for the optimal qualifying time.
McLaren, however, still holds strong to their stance on only using Papaya Rules, never team orders.
What are the key moments that led to this?
It began in Hungary last year when Piastri won his first-ever F1 race. Beating Norris off the line, Piastri was in the lead, however, to protect against an undercut from third place the team pitted Norris first. This meant he inherited the lead when Piastri pitted. The team felt Piastri deserved the win, so with two laps remaining, Norris relinquished the lead.
The team’s reluctance to use team orders saw Norris lose valuable points in his 2024 championship hunt at Monza when he was held up behind Piastri. Had he been released, he would have had the chance to close the gap to only 52 points behind Verstappen.
In the 2025 season opener in Melbourne, McLaren attempted to control the battle between the two drivers, telling Piastri not to attack his teammate for first place.
Canada this year saw the first collision of the pair, Norris rear-ending Piastri while lining up to overtake on the pit straight.
The British Grand Prix saw the drivers asking for team orders, which were ignored. Piastri was on track to win when he received a 10-second penalty for erratic driving behind the safety car, which dropped him to second. Piastri believed the penalty was unfair and asked to swap the positions, a request which was denied.
McLaren again had to explain their decisions post-race, as the team ran different strategies on the two cars, undermining their policy of equal racing between the teammates.
At the Italian race, Norris suggested Piastri pit first, as long as he didn’t undercut him. When Norris pitted second, there was a problem resulting in a 5-second pit stop. The team ultimately made Piastri return the race lead to Norris, justifying it as a return favour for Hungary last year.
What does it mean now that the Constructors’ title has been won?
Last night’s race saw McLaren take home the Constructors’ Championship for the second year in a row. The constructors’ is the main ‘team’ element of the season, the points that both drivers earn throughout the season go towards it. McLaren now has 650 championship points, Mercedes trailing in second with 325 points.
Now that the team element is locked in, the drivers are separated, but not useless to each other. With six remaining races on the calendar, there is a long way to go.
Piastri is currently in the Drivers’ Championship lead, sitting on 336 points, just 22 points ahead of Norris and 63 points ahead of Verstappen in third.
Photo: Norris & Piastri on the grid – Chinese GP 2024 by Liauzh found HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.
