Bernie Ecclestone, the former F1 supremo, has doubled down on his stance that McLaren “favours” Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri.
Ecclestone believes it is better for McLaren from a “marketing” standpoint if Norris becomes world champion, with Piastri getting “upset and tired” about the ‘papaya rules’ of engagement talk.
Bernie Ecclestone: Oscar Piastri ‘frustrated’
After Norris’ retirement late in the Dutch Grand Prix, Piastri became the overwhelming favourite for the F1 2025 title. He had moved 34 points clear out front, and was racing with his trademark unflappable aura shining. But, the road since has been bumpy for the Australian title hopeful.
The pressure only ramped up further after Mexico as Norris returned to the top of the championship for the first time since Saudi Arabia. Piastri managed P7 only on the grid, and crossed the line P5, his pace having deserted him in Mexico City as Norris took a dominant win.
That only further fuelled the unsubstantiated claims doing the rounds on social media, ones which claim Norris is the driver which McLaren wants to win the title.
Ecclestone already gave his approval to the conspiracy theory earlier in the season, and in a new RTL/ntv and sport.de interview, doubled down on his stance.
Ecclestone suggested that McLaren has “slowed the Australian down more often using various means,” adding: “McLaren favours the English driver Norris.
“He has more star and marketing qualities for them, has more camera presence and publicity. That’s probably why it’s better for McLaren.”
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In addition, Ecclestone claims that Piastri is “upset and tired” over McLaren’s ‘papaya rules’ and that “discussions about it annoy him”, Ecclestone suggesting that Piastri is the driver to suffer.
Papaya rules is a term first introduced into Formula 1 by McLaren, which has evolved into a generalised term for how they govern wheel-to-wheel combat between Norris and Piastri. Hard, but fair and clean racing is the modus operandi, but McLaren’s use of team orders to maintain fairness between their drivers has at times sparked favouritism talk.
“The pressure is mounting, and Piastri is frustrated that he can no longer win races so easily and that Norris is obviously favoured within the team,” Ecclestone concluded.
No room for Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri favouritism now
The talk of favouritism within McLaren struggles to pull its weight under examination. McLaren has in fact tied itself in knots at times trying to create a level playing field for Piastri and Norris to battle over the Drivers’ crown.
But, McLaren at this stage has no choice but to be impartial. The gap between Norris and Piastri is just one point, and by allowing their drivers to race, rather than call off Norris’ hopes, the door has been re-opened for Max Verstappen.
With four rounds to go in F1 2025, the title fight has evolved into a three-horse race, with no driver out of the trio emerging as the most likely contender. Piastri is out of form, Norris still needs to prove that he can string performances like Mexico together under such pressure, and Verstappen cannot afford any setbacks from here.
For McLaren to give up on fairness now, and try to move one driver into the No.2 role, would not only reflect badly on the team, but also appear illogical with Norris and Piastri having converged in the title fight.
Irk one driver, and the on-track skirmishes may become a bit more, severe. Perfect for Verstappen, who is looking to swoop in to deny McLaren the title double which looked guaranteed just a few months ago.
What a conclusion to the F1 2025 title fight we have on our hands!
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