No change to ‘papaya rules’ for McLaren’s drivers in wake of clash at Canadian F1 Grand Prix
It was the Canadian clash that dialled up the heat in the F1 title battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, and now the McLaren pair have had their say ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
Championship leader Oscar Piastri insists there will be no shift in McLaren’s papaya rules and he and teammate Lando Norris will still be “free to race” in the wake of their dramatic Canadian Formula One Grand Prix clash.
As the McLaren drivers prepare to renew their championship battle at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, Piastri also shot down suggestions he would be willing to ask for preferential treatment in his title quest given his lead in the drivers’ championship.
There was a dramatic twist to the pair’s title fight last start in Montreal when Norris collided with Piastri late in the race as they were fighting for fourth.
After managing to avoid trouble between each other so far this year, Norris admitted fault after running into the rear tyre of Piastri while he attempted to overtake on pit straight and ended up crashing into the concrete barrier, ending his race.
Piastri went on to finish fourth and extend his lead in the drivers’ championship to 22 points over his teammate.
McLaren’s “papaya rules” have outlined the rules of engagement between its drivers on track – race hard, but race clean and don’t make contact.
As the pair’s clash remained a hot topic ahead of the Austrian round, Piastri confirmed there would be no change to the team’s approach.
“Same as always,” Piastri said.
“What happened in Canada wasn’t ideal, but we’re still free to race, (we’re) still fighting for a championship each.
“So, no (change), keep going racing and make sure that we don’t come into contact again.
“I don’t think it will change anything. For me, I certainly won’t do anything different,” Piastri added. “I won’t behave any differently. If Lando’s going to do anything different, that’s for him to answer, but I don’t expect anything to change.
“We’ve still got a long season ahead of us. I think it’s going to be a title battle for the rest of the year.”
The Norris move on Piastri in Canada had been slammed as “clumsy” by Sky Sports F1 expert Martin Brundle, while McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said he had wanted “better judgement” from his drivers after the incident.
While Norris admitted the conversations with the team had not been the “most joyful” after the clash, he felt the many things had come out “stronger” from it.
“There’s been a good understanding of everything, realising my thoughts and understanding things both from my side and explaining that to the team.” Norris told the media in Austria.
“I think I made it clear from the immediate moment that I misjudged it and I took the fault from it. Of course, it was not the most joyful conversations, but conversations that needed to be had clearly because it’s not just about myself, it’s how we perform as a team.
“We all know what rule number one was and continues and always will be.
“Many things have come out stronger than they were prior to Canada, which you might not expect. Through unfortunate circumstances a lot has been learned, a lot of things have turned into being stronger.
“The trust and the honesty that Oscar and I have for one another, it’s important that we keep it up, we stay strong as a team because we don’t want to have the downfall that we know many other teams have had in the past.
“We want to race each other fair and hard and on the limit and not have a repeat of what happened last time out.”
While the Canadian drama boosted Piastri’s advantage over Norris in the championship, he dismissed suggestions he would be willing to ask the team to favour him over his teammate given his title standing.
“I think, for me, I just want - and we all want - a fair opportunity trying to win both championships,” Piastri said.
“Especially in the drivers’ championship, because ultimately, it can only be one of us.
“I think the situation has to change dramatically to start having those conversations, and they’re a very long way away at the moment.
“So at the moment, all I can ask for is a fair chance to try and win the championship, and that’s what I want as well.
“I’m not willing to enter those talks at all.”
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