Jolyon Palmer says McLaren were right all along over papaya rules for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

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For all the criticism surrounding McLaren’s papaya rules last year, Jolyon Palmer has admitted McLaren got their strategy right.

McLaren’s approach to the championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri was often criticised by several figures within Formula 1.

While Norris eventually managed to win the title without creating tension with Piastri, many felt that the pair’s relationship would suffer.

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Had things not gone smoothly between the two, McLaren may have changed their lineup and replaced either Piastri or Norris.

But despite him previously criticising McLaren’s handling of the situation, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has admitted their approach worked out in the right way.

READ MORE: Oscar Piastri says he’s ‘very committed’ to McLaren F1 team amid links to Red Bull

Jolyon Palmer changes his mind about McLaren’s papaya rules for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Jolyon Palmer looked back on McLaren’s 2025 season and how they handled the championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

While he was initially critical of the papaya rules, Palmer admitted that them surviving and winning both championships showed that they managed things the right way.

“They sort of got away with it because McLaren won both championships. So they were spinning plates the whole way through the season, and it must have given them so much extra work that the other teams weren’t having to do…”

“You’ve probably got Zak and Andrea Stella in communication with the race engineers. How much communication, how much thought process is going on to how you manage those races?

“But in the end, because they got away with it, I feel like it’s a case study of how it was quite well handled ultimately, because we’re into next year, and the drivers are still harmonious, although they’re not yet in the championship battle.

“Neither of them had a championship. Both of them needed the team on board to take the championship.

“Whereas, when you look through some of the big ones in the past, you’re dealing with at least one guy that’s already a champion, and it becomes way harder if the other guy is ready to roll up his sleeves and do a little bit more to take the championship.”

READ MORE: Zak Brown hints at F1’s ‘ultimate experience’ involving Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri 

We’ve seen some intense feuds between teammates. But what is the greatest rivalry ever?

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Mercedes could use McLaren case study to handle George Russell and Kimi Antonelli battle

The conversation on the intra-team rivalry between Piastri and Norris, among others, came about due to the chatter surrounding Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

Some believe Russell and Antonelli are on a collision course, given that both drivers currently sit atop the championship standings.

So far, Russell has appeared rattled by Antonelli’s success, especially as his strong start to the season has been somewhat derailed in the last two races.

But Antonelli has been warned about Russell and his ability to close the gap as the season goes on. All this talk about a rivalry between two drivers is sure to give Mercedes boss Toto Wolff a headache.

Wolff is no stranger to intra-team rivalries, having overseen the heated feud between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

This time around, Wolff will be hoping to handle things a lot better than he did before. Perhaps he could take a page out of McLaren’s playbook to try to keep the harmony alive within Mercedes.