Andrea Stella reveals what Oscar Piastri told him about McLaren’s papaya rules in post-season talks

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McLaren conducted a review into their ‘papaya rules’ at the end of last season. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had the opportunity to suggest changes.

Norris won the world championship last year after beating teammate Piastri by just 13 points. During the season, a number of contentious team calls went his way.

At the Italian GP, Norris allowed Piastri to pit first, but then suffered a slow stop. This saw him drop behind his teammate, but McLaren swapped their cars back.

Later, in Singapore, Norris was allowed to keep the place after making contact with his teammate during an overtake at the start. Piastri was audibly furious on the radio.

McLaren later punished Norris by relegating him to number two status in qualifying, but these ‘repercussions’ only lasted one race, with Piastri deemed predominantly at fault for an intra-team collision in the US GP Sprint.

Oscar Piastri has backed McLaren’s way of ‘going racing’

Earlier in the season, McLaren had told Piastri to hold position rather than attack Norris at the Australian GP.

They also warned Piastri that his pursuit of Norris in Austria was overly aggressive. Whether the team intervened in the race or sat back, car #4 generally seemed to benefit.

There was no suggestion from anyone in the team that Norris was deliberately receiving preferential treatment, but one can see why Piastri, who led the standings by 34 points at one stage, might feel aggrieved.

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However, speaking to Autosport on Thursday, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said Piastri remains supportive of their philosophy.

“There’s nothing in Formula 1 that you put to rest,” Stella said. “You need to continuously evolve, continuously review, find a way to do better.

“Even when it comes to the racing principles that we apply together with Lando and Oscar, we could confirm in the review post-season and the ongoing conversations with our drivers that the principles of fairness, equality, sportsmanship, that’s the way we want to go racing.

“That’s the way in which we feel, as McLaren Racing, Lando, Oscar, they feel best represented in who we really are.

“At the same time, there’s many ways you can find of doing things better. Hopefully, if we can find a way to do the same in a simpler way, in a more streamlined way, with less work for everyone, that will be an important improvement for the future.”

David Coulthard hints Andrea Stella must show more courage

Max Verstappen accused Piastri of ‘selling his soul’ by obeying all of McLaren’s team orders last season. Verstappen finished second in the championship, just two points behind Norris.

While he didn’t have a problem with the ultimate decisions, David Coulthard says Stella should have issued the orders himself, rather than leaving it to his engineers.

But if Piastri does have any complaints, then he’s behaved with the utmost professionalism by keeping them internal.

McLaren are expected to fight for the title again in 2026, utilising a Mercedes engine that may have an innate horsepower advantage.