Explained: How McLaren’s new papaya rules will change how Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri battle

McLaren is throwing its weight behind Lando Norris over the remaining third of the F1 2024 championship, with a change in approach to the ‘papaya rules’.

McLaren’s ‘papaya rules’ became part of the F1 vernacular in recent weeks, the framework under which Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are allowed to battle each other.

Andrea Stella: McLaren’s support will be biased to Lando Norris

Up until the Monza weekend, McLaren had allowed its drivers to race hard against each other – to the point where Oscar Piastri was allowed to finish ahead of Lando Norris on track despite the British driver being much closer to Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship.

With Norris trying to close down a 62-point lead over the remaining eight Grand Prix weekends, McLaren has now changed its approach as team boss Andrea Stella told the BBC: “We [will] bias our support to Lando but we want to do it without too much compromise on our principles.

“Our principles are that the team interest always comes first. Sportsmanship for us is important in the overall way we go racing. And then we want to be fair to both drivers.”

At Monza, McLaren turned a 1-2 starting grid into a loss to Ferrari ‘s Charles Leclerc as Piastri overtook Norris on the first lap – wrongfooting the British driver to the extent it allowed Leclerc to sneak past.

“What we don’t want to see anymore is a situation like in Monza in which we enter a chicane P1/P2 and we exit P1/P3. Because that is a detriment to the team,” Stella said.

“The team interests comes first and these are the situations that above all we need to fix because eventually, as a matter of fact, the way we entered the race in Monza left the door open this situation.

“After Monza, three objectives: we need to make sure that anything that happens on track is not to the detriment of the team. Second objective, how do we win both championships, both drivers committed to help? But what we don’t want to do is win in a reckless way. Those are the three topics and they define the way we go racing in Baku. This will be updated after Baku.”

Lando Norris reacts to Andrea Stella’s commitment of support

Now comfortable in the knowledge that he will have less worry coming from the other side of the McLaren garage, Norris spoke about the changes to the ‘papaya rules’ ahead of the Azerbaijan weekend.

“I mean, good, thankful,” Norris responded to media when asked for his thoughts on the change of approach.

“He’s still fighting for his own racing, he’s still going out and doing his stuff. It could be that there’s no time this year that he needs to help me, so it’s more that I’ve got Oscar’s help when needs be, but he’s still going out with the intent in every session of just fighting for himself and going to do his job.”

Norris denied Piastri would be asked to give up wins if he ends up in front of Norris, and said, “It’ll probably be for lower positions. But, if he’s fought for a win and he’s deserving of a win, then he deserves to win, so probably not.”

As for whether he’s happy to see his team finally make a decision on how to structure their drivers going forward, Norris replied: “We’ve had decisions before, and we’ve had things that we’ve run through – we’ve just not publicly said it, so it’s more that we’ve just told you what you want to hear finally than anything else!

“But we’ve always worked well as a team. I think now there’s a bit more of a structure to it and an understanding that we have internally on for what positions will change, for what scenarios will change, how we can help one another, and obviously, how he can help me.

“But it’s not like he goes out every session now, and that’s his only job – if he goes out and he’s better than me, performs better than me, out-qualifies me and wins the race, that’s because he’s done a better job.

“We work very well together. I think, as drivers, you always want to fight for yourself. So there’s always going to be things which I’ll be biased towards on my side, and he’s going to be biased in his side, but everything we’ve done is come together as the best compromises for one another.

“Yeah, we have our own principles. We have our own way of working. Nothing will go unnoticed from what he might do.”

But battles like at Monza will still be permitted, Norris stated, explaining: “Yes, because I think there’ll be certain times when it’s just not smart to battle, though.

“I think if you go into Lap 1 and that’s on your mind, that’s the wrong approach, I think you both have to go into Lap 1 with the right approach, which is to attack and to try and go forward.

“So, as soon as you start thinking of other things, that’s normally when it starts to go wrong. So I think Monza was a slightly different case.

“But yeah, we looked back at that, and we’ve resolved that. But, from now on, we’re still fighting for each other, but, from that point on, then we’ll try and help one another.”

Given that victories won’t be ordered over to Norris, and battling on Lap 1 is still permitted, what exactly has changed?

“A lot of that’s between us,” Norris said. “But to say as simply as – Monza, the second and third would have been swapped around, something like that.”

More on McLaren and the papaya rules

👉 ‘Papaya rules’ explained: What are McLaren instructing their drivers with new phrase?

👉 Five big Azerbaijan GP questions: Perez really a street fighter? Papaya rules changed?

Oscar Piastri: Now is the appropriate time to impose team orders

As the driver expected to now fall in behind his teammate when the circumstances require, Piastri couldn’t hide the fact that, in an ideal world, he wouldn’t have to worry about team orders but he understood the logic in imposing them from now on for the final third of the season.

“It’s obviously been something we’ve discussed a lot in the last few days,” he said.

“Of course, selfishly, as a driver in my own interests, of course, team orders are not that fun, but, in saying that, I realise that there’s a much bigger picture here than just myself.

“So, I race for a team that’s given me my opportunity in F1 and a team that has given me the opportunity to win races in F1 within 18 months of being here. So I have a lot of gratitude for that.

“This is about much more than just me, and we’re trying to achieve both championships, which, for the team, is an incredibly big thing – the Constructors’ is one thing but, if you have the opportunity to win both championships in the year.

“Then, as a team, of course it’s a massive objective to try and achieve both. So, of course, being selfish, I would prefer to not have it. But I’m very aware that it’s not just about me, and I’m happy to play a supporting role at this point of the season.

“I think any earlier in the season, it would have been probably excessive. But I think now it’s an appropriate time to try and help the team win both championships.

As for how the team orders will actually affect his racing and approach to battle, Piastri said there are still details up for discussion.

“I think the main point is it’s not purely just going to be me pulling over for Lando every single race because that’s not any of us, including Lando, want to go racing,” he said.

“If we feel that someone has done a much better job on a weekend, whichever way it is, we want that person to be rewarded. That’s where it becomes a little bit tricky still, and we need to continue discussing that. But it’s not simply a blanket ‘I’m going to be behind Lando in every single race, in every decision that’s ever taken from here on out’, because I still have things that I want to achieve in the championship and trying to boost my standing in the Drivers’ Championship.

“Of course, as a team, we’re not winning the Constructors’ championship, so we need to make sure that we win that so it’s very important that we maintain that kind of trust and respect.”

Part of the acceptance behind his understanding of the new dynamic is the fact that Piastri said he can see how the team remembers gestures and actions – things that may pay off for him in the future if the roles are reversed.

“It’s something that won’t be forgotten, I guess, in the future,” he said.

“So I know that, if it was the other way around, then we would be having exactly the same discussions about Driver A or Driver B. So I think for me, knowing that it will be remembered in the future… there have been things in the past where, whether it be with upgrades or strategy at some races that have always been remembered in the future. So that’s our way of going racing.

“If it was me in this scenario, then we’d be having exactly the same discussions. For both sides, it’s never easy, because, as a driver, you always want to win on merit and because you’ve done a better job on the day, not because of having assistance.

“Of course, if it’s the difference between winning a world championship or not, then you would take the assistance. But I think the belief and the thinking for all of us in the team is that we want to try and do everything as much as possible on merit, with some help along the way.”

Read Next: FIA reveal 16 changes to bonkers Baku track ahead of Azerbaijan Grand Prix