There is one term that Formula 1 fans will not hear this season after it triggered controversy for McLaren during last year\u2019s title fight, and that\u2019s \u2018papaya rules\u2019.<\/p>\n
The term \u2018papaya rules\u2019 was first uttered at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix when Norris\u2019 race engineer, Will Joseph, told him that he was free to race Piastri after falling behind but within \u201cpapaya rules\u201d.<\/p>\n
The end of McLaren\u2019s \u2018papaya rules\u2019?<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n McLaren<\/a> team boss Andrea Stella explained to PlanetF1.com and other media: \u201cOur recommendation is always racing with the papaya rules, whereby, when the car is papaya, like you are always careful with any other competitor, but if the car is papaya, you take even extra care.\u201d<\/p>\n McLaren CEO Zak Brown summed it up simply: \u201cRace each other respectfully, and give each other enough room and don\u2019t touch each other.\u201d<\/p>\n But while McLaren\u2019s \u2018papaya rules\u2019 began as a catchy phrase, it was twisted into something controversial as the F1 2025 title fight played out.<\/p>\n With Piastri ordered to give Norris second place in Monza followed closely by Norris hitting his teammate in Singapore without in-race consequences, conspiracy theorists declared \u2018papaya rules\u2019 only applied if they favoured the Briton. Such was the ire that the Australian parliament even asked whether or not Piastri was being treated fairly by McLaren.<\/p>\n He would go on to lose the title by 13 points to Norris, and was also overhauled by Max Verstappen in the standings.<\/p>\n But while Brown says McLaren will race this season the \u201cway we go racing\u201d, Piastri says the \u2018papaya rules\u2019 will \u201clook different\u201d, adding: \u201cWe probably caused some headaches for ourselves that we didn\u2019t need to at points last year.\u201d<\/p>\n And the first cure for that headache is to drop the term \u2018papaya rules\u2019.<\/p>\n F1 2026 McLaren scores: Lando Norris v Oscar Piastri<\/p>\n F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates<\/a><\/p>\n F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates<\/a><\/p>\n Speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast, former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley quipped: \u201cI think all of these, whatever you want to call them, \u2018papaya rules\u2019, was like, that\u2019s why you should never let the marketeers get in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Podcast host Jake Humphrey chipped in on that, saying McLaren had told him that the labelling of the team\u2019s rules of engagement will no longer be in play.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they dropped it now,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I say the other day, someone said, \u2018we won\u2019t talk about papaya rules anyway\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s become almost like a mockery. Papaya rules! We now associate it with a period of confusion for everyone. Yeah, I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n Smedley added: \u201cSo it\u2019s like don\u2019t let the branding experts get in the way like, the serious stuff.<\/p>\n \u201cLike, just don\u2019t call it the papaya rules. They\u2019re just rules of engagement, right?\u201d<\/p>\n The Briton, who worked with Jordan Grand Prix, Ferrari and Williams in Formula 1, says every team has those rules, which are set out between senior management and the drivers, and it only becomes a problem if not everyone understands the playbook.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what he thinks happened at McLaren last season.<\/p>\n \u201cMcLaren has rules of engagement, Force India had, Williams had,\u201d he continued. \u201cI think with rules of engagement, it\u2019s very, very simple.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they are clear from the outset, when you sit there pre-season, and you all agree, as a senior management team and a senior group of people, including the drivers, that this is what\u2019s going to happen, and this is how we\u2019re going to do this, nobody has a problem.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never been in a team where people are\u2026 if people have a problem at that stage, you probably haven\u2019t got very good team players.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem with rules of engagement is when there\u2019s 50 per cent of the garage knows about the rules of engagement, and 50 per cent of the garage don\u2019t, and then it becomes a big problem. Then you start to get into blow ups.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cI wasn\u2019t in the team at the time, but my observation was there was not clarity between everybody in that team. Because I think when there is, what\u2019s the problem, right?\u201d<\/p>\n So far this season, Norris is leading the McLaren battle with 51 points to Piastri\u2019s 43. The teammates are fourth and sixth in the Drivers\u2019 standings<\/a>.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n