Zak Brown explains the 'Papaya Rules' and announces internal discussions at McLaren

By wanting to give too much freedom to its two pilots, McLaren Wouldn't she be shooting herself in the foot? On Sunday, at Monza, the paddock and spectators discovered the "Papaya Rules", dictated by the British pit wall at Lando Norris, then chasing after his teammate Oscar piastri. Like the “Multi 21” at the time Hag-Webber at Red Bull, the Oranges decided to establish codes between its drivers to allow them to fight or not. A long-thought-out plan… but which did not work as expected in Italy.

Starting from the front row, with Lando Norris on pole position ahead of Oscar Piastri, the two McLarens were in a strong position at the start, but the Australian seized his chance in the 2nd chicane by overtaking the Briton, who probably did not expect an attack from his teammate on the first lap. Disturbed by the maneuver, the poleman also lost a position to Charles Leclerc at the exit of the chicane, compromising his chances of victory on the first lap. A victory which ultimately went to the Monegasque thanks to a well-executed one-stop strategy.

📻 "You are allowed to fight with Oscar, Papaya rules"

Who will take the lead, Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri? 👀#ItalianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ALsjelgg6B

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) September 1, 2024

"It was an aggressive move [on Piastri's part], said Zak Brown on Sky Sports after the Italian Grand Prix. Their start was excellent and that's what we had discussed, getting behind each other to make sure no one else could get by.. I think Lando was probably caught off guard by this maneuver, thinking they were going to stick together and escape. That's something we'll discuss internally."

Already the end of the “Papaya Rules” at McLaren?

Later in the race, after the first stop and the successful undercut by Lando Norris, the two drivers found themselves in the first two places again. McLaren decided to leave the "Papayas Rules" and thus give Lando Norris permission to attack his teammate. The Englishman ultimately failed to get the better of the Australian and, beaten by Charles Leclerc and his one-stop strategy, had to settle for 3rd place in Monza. Zak Brown returned to these famous rules internally and recognizes that - even if McLaren had not planned an attack from the first lap - Oscar Piastri's maneuver was indeed in order and the Australian was within his rights.

"The 'Papaya Rules' mean he's your teammate, you can attack him, wrestle him cleanly and not touch him, and that's what happened, reveals the American leader. It was an aggressive overtake so we'll have a chat between us, it was a bit nervous on the pit wall but the idea is to respect your team-mate. Lando had a bad exit from that corner too so it would have been nice to see them both stay head to head a bit longer. They didn't touch, it was an aggressive overtake but a clean overtake."

Barely revealed to the world at the Italian Grand Prix, these "Papayas Rules" already seem obsolete at McLaren, which, after missing out on victory at Monza, is now considering giving team orders to help Lando Norris in his quest for the world title. A complex situation to manage for the British clan since Oscar Piastri also wants to play his card to the full, he who is 44 points behind his teammate and 106 on Max Verstappen.

"Both are young drivers who want to win, we have always believed in the possibility of having two number ones, it has always been the McLaren way. It can be difficult to manage, we experienced it with Senna and Cheers, compare Zak Brown. The two drivers get on very well, they race against each other and it's a question of philosophy: are we a one-car team or a two-car team? The easiest thing would have been for Lando to go wide and there wouldn't be any tough decisions to make on the pit wall, but Andrea [Stella] and I are taking things as they come.

It won't be too long before McLaren makes a decision, either, because the points lost over the weekends could well be costly at the end of the season against a Max Verstappen who is still present despite the difficulties...

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