Bernie Collins questions whether papaya rules denied Oscar Piastri victory at the Qatar Grand Prix

McLaren had a bit of a disaster at the Qatar Grand Prix and will have to deal with Max Verstappen during the 2025 F1 season finale.

Oscar Piastri failed to take advantage of his superior pace and is now the outsider in the drivers’ championship.

McLaren opted against making an early pit stop with either car at the Qatar Grand Prix, which left their drivers out of sync with every other driver on the grid.

Verstappen had too much pace for them to reel him in by the end, and the team admitted their mistake immediately after the race.

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Zak Brown and Andrea Stella were ‘shellshocked’ and needed some time to gather their thoughts before approaching the media after the race.

When asked about the decision, Verstappen called McLaren’s call ‘interesting’ and was left surprised by their approach mid-race.

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri looks on at the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix — Photo by Mario Renzi – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Bernie Collins questions whether papaya rules ‘hurt’ Oscar Piastri in Qatar

Piastri thought McLaren’s mistake was ‘pretty obvious’ and was understandably frustrated at failing to take advantage of his pace in Qatar.

From 16 points behind, he would break the record for the largest deficit ever recovered from in the final race of a title battle. Sebastian Vettel came back from 15 behind in 2010.

Oscar Piastri couldn’t believe his luck at the end of the Qatar Grand Prix. Do you think he can still win the championship?

“Yeah, clearly we didn’t get it right tonight. I drove the best race that I could, the fastest that I could. There was nothing left out there. I’ve tried my best but it wasn’t to be tonight, unfortunately.

“I think in hindsight, it is pretty obvious what we would have done. I am sure we will discuss it as a team.

“Yep, I mean it is not all bad obviously. It has been a really good weekend, the pace has been very strong but it is a little bit tough to swallow at the moment.”
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s reaction to the Qatar Grand Prix

Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins was left questioning McLaren’s decision-making after Qatar, feeling that their Aussie driver had been ‘hurt’ by their call.

“Piastri had a three-second gap to Verstappen,” he said. “With that advantage, I don’t understand for Oscar Piastri, if it was a standalone car, why you wouldn’t pit?

“For Lando Norris, it’s a little more difficult. He has to stack with his teammate, open a gap. How many positions will he lose?

“If you ask about Papaya Rules, hesitation in stacking Norris and holding him back from potentially achieving everything he could, has hurt. Only McLaren internally know the real answer to that. They have a lot to go through.”

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren at the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix — Photo by Clive Rose – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Why did McLaren choose not to pit early at the Qatar Grand Prix?

McLaren’s hesitance to pit early in Qatar feels very much like it was a move out of fear that it would distort how fair things were between their drivers.

If they had stacked, not only might Norris have been held up, but multiple cars could have come past him, ruining his race.

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They chose the conservative option, and were completely caught out by the entire field behind them making pit stops.

It’s a lesson they’ll have to learn from quickly and ensure that they fix it in time for Abu Dhabi. They have refused to move from their papaya rules, and it’ll be interesting to see how they approach the finale.

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