Guenther Steiner shares exactly what Andrea Stella said about McLaren’s papaya rules in Las Vegas

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McLaren are in a bit of a tricky spot after their shock double disqualification at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Lando Norris was the big loser in the situation, as his lead to Max Verstappen was sliced by more than half, and teammate Oscar Piastri ended the weekend just as close to him as when he had started it.

Even if they’re not showing it yet, McLaren might be in a little bit of panic. They cannot afford to set their car up as aggressively as they would like to, and it could limit their potential over the next few weeks.

Team boss Andrea Stella looked disappointed after the confirmation that his team would be taking nothing home from the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Now, they’re back under a little pressure.

Norris called his Las Vegas disqualification ‘frustrating’ and appeared to leave the circuit before the decision had been announced publicly.

Jenson Button thinks Piastri’s title hopes are slim and sees Verstappen as his main competitor over the final two races. Recent form would suggest he’s right.

READ MORE: Andrea Stella just told Oscar Piastri what he ‘needs’ to do to win the 2025 F1 championship

Guenther Steiner says Andrea Stella insisted that McLaren’s papaya rules won’t change

David Coulthard thinks Piastri has F1 fatigue, having started the season in incredible form, and tailed off since the summer break.

Now is the time for the team to rally right behind their drivers and make sure that they feel some support before the end of the title race. Any confidence boost could end up being vital.

With Verstappen lurking in their mirrors, it could be worth McLaren putting all their eggs in one basket to ensure that the drivers’ title comes back to Woking.

As far as Guenther Steiner is concerned, though, there is no intention of altering the papaya rules in favour of Norris. Stella has insisted on keeping things the same.

“They’re in a very bad place,” he said on the Drive to Wynn Podcast. “Because I spoke actually with Andrea yesterday, I asked him before the disqualification: ‘Are you implementing new Papaya rules?’ Because nobody knows what they are anyway. ‘We are just doing the same,’ [he replied].

“If you want to win the world championship, in my opinion, now, they actually need to sit down and say, ‘Oscar, you need to be the wingman now of Lando, because, otherwise, Max is on a roll now.’ It’s too risky. I don’t think they’re going to do that.”

READ MORE: Jenson Button says Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are now in a ‘horrible’ period of F1 title fight

McLaren just ended a 60-race streak at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

McLaren’s double disqualification might have huge current implications for them, but it will also impact them in the future.

They cannot afford a repeat of Vegas, which means raising the ride height of their cars at the next two races. The difference could be worth tenths of seconds.

For the first time in 60 races, they failed to score a point with either car – a run that stretched back as far as the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix.

Helmut Marko was ‘surprised’ by Norris in Vegas, but the next race in Qatar suits his machine a little more. It wouldn’t be as much of a surprise to see him fast there.