Stella issues clear statement over driver priority at McLaren amid 'papaya rules' order

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has made his stance on driver priority clear for the rest of the season

The gap between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen has closed once again in the drivers' standings as it now sits at 62 points with eight races to go.

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McLaren's first win of the season only came after six rounds at the Miami GP back in May, but now the team has picked up two wins out of the last four races.

However, Stella insists that his team will pick their moments to play favourite to certain drivers despite Norris being the closest to championship leader Verstappen.

Stella reluctant to play favourites

At the Hungarian GP, Oscar Piastri took his first victory in F1 but the main talking point was the team orders at play with McLaren demanding Norris to move over for the Australian as he only gained the lead as he pitted before him.

With that in mind, Stella seems keen to prevent any further team order controversy as they battle for the drivers' and constructors' titles.

A curious 'papaya rules' message was sent out on team radio in Monza, instructing the Norris and Piastri that they are free to race, but to give each other plenty of room.

Speaking before Sunday's race, he said: "I think when it comes to these conversations about being the number one, I don't think that's a good way of approaching racing.

“For us, we'd rather approach racing from fairness, integrity, and then see what comes, what sheds from this kind of approach.

"Whether on some occasions we need the team to take a certain direction in a 50-50 decision, or if we want to have a conversation with Oscar and say, like, ‘Oscar, would you be available to do this to support Lando chasing the World Championship?’, but it will always have to be a conversation before the race.

“We all should be in agreement because ultimately we chase and we are in the quest for a driver's World Championship as a team.

“There's nobody that goes his own way, and then the others will have to follow.

“So that's our style, which is I don't think it can be necessarily and simply summarised in like, we elect a number one, and then we work accordingly. I would like to keep this more articulated as a team, and then be more on a case-by-case situation.”

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