Lando Norris confirms new McLaren F1 team rules after Monza controversy

According to Lando Norris, the infamous Papaya Rules at McLaren never really existed.

While the Woking outfit does have internal guidelines on how he and Oscar Piastri should race, Norris makes it clear that these rules are largely symbolic.

During the Monza race, Piastri had to follow a team order to let Norris pass. The Australian expressed his frustration over the radio but ultimately complied.

These team orders are linked to what McLaren refers to as the Papaya Rules—a set of guidelines meant to ensure fair racing.

Last year, Norris’ race engineer, Will Joseph, explained, “Our advice is always to race according to the Papaya Rules—in the same way you remain cautious against every opponent, you just take extra care when the car is papaya.”

'There are no papaya rules'

Following the team order in Monza last weekend, Norris found himself second on the podium instead of third at the expense of Piastri.

Later, when questioned by DAZN about the papaya rules, he stated, “There are no Papaya Rules anymore. We never had any. The key is fairness.” He went on to clarify the team’s internal guidelines: “They hardly fill a page. It’s all about fairness for me and Oscar. I don’t want these kinds of things to happen. We aren’t dwelling on the past; we do what we believe is right for us.”

'It needed to be corrected'

Norris isn’t overly surprised that Piastri eventually followed the team order. “If the roles were reversed, I would have stepped aside too,” he noted.

“It’s not what I want, nor what the team prefers. It only complicates matters and muddles the positions. But as a team, both drivers agreed it was the proper course of action if such a situation arose. It needed to be corrected. If it had happened to Oscar, we would have done exactly the same.”

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