A new term the F1 community got familiarized with in 2024 was ‘papaya rules’, which although in context appeared self-explanatory, still left everyone scratching their heads. One person who never quite understood what it meant was Guenther Steiner.
First heard in Monza, papaya pules basically meant that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were free to race each other, but had to be respectful and not spoil the Grand Prix for McLaren. Papaya because it’s McLaren’s iconic colors.
When Steiner first heard the term, he couldn’t get his head around it. So he went to McLaren team principal Zak Brown for an explanation and the American gave him one.
Unfortunately for Brown, as it turned out, Steiner wasn’t an easy man to impress.
Ahead of F1’s season-opener in Australia, the ex-Haas boss was asked where papaya rules ranked in his list of iconic catchphrases and his response wasn’t very positive. “A lot of bullsh*t,” he said to Fox Australia with a laugh.
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“I never found out what it is, and I asked Zak directly,” Steiner continued. Brown told him how those were ‘McLaren’s internal rules’, but F1’s resident ‘troll principal’ Steiner remained adamant that it was a load of ‘BS’.
In reality, however, the consequences of the papaya rules altered the course of McLaren’s season. It also drew heavy criticism toward the Woking-based outfit — something that could have been avoided if the rules had been clearer and more transparent.
Did papaya rules work for McLaren?
At last year’s Monza race, Piastri — who started P2 behind Norris — overtook his teammate on the very first lap, putting the Briton and McLaren in a difficult position. This was despite the entire paddock expecting the team to prioritize Norris in his Drivers’ title bid.
However, the papaya outfit remained committed to their ‘two number one drivers’ policy — something that had rarely worked in F1.
Piastri’s move didn’t pay off either, as he soon lost the lead to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. That left him fighting for P2 — along with Norris — when McLaren issued the papaya rules team order, allowing them to race each other.
They finished P2 and P3, but McLaren lost valuable points. Experts criticized the team, and they eventually realized that to win both titles, they had to prioritize one driver. Sadly for Piastri, he was the one sacrificed — but the remainder of 2024 was seamless. Come Abu Dhabi, McLaren became Constructors’ champions for the first time since 1998.
But is papaya rules making a comeback for 2025? Brown certainly hinted so.
