‘Papaya rules’ was one of the most trending topics in F1 last year. McLaren’s choice to implement them and their reluctance to pick a clear number-one driver for a long time caused a lot of unrest, and heading into the 2025 season, all eyes were on CEO Zak Brown once again.
Brown, however, decided not to play favorites. Towards the end of the 2024 season, the team had prioritized Lando Norris due to his drivers’ title challenge. But the slates were clean heading into the new campaign, with both Norris and Oscar Piastri having gotten the green light to go for the crown.
Norris did just that. He won the 2025 Australian GP, whereas his teammate Piastri could only finish P9. But that doesn’t tell the full story of the chaotic race in Melbourne. Piastri was looking faster than Norris and was just four-tenths behind him at one point. Alas, McLaren asked him to hold his position, and a slip-up later in the race caused him to tumble down the order.
So, Norris appeared to be number one after all. Even though Brown doesn’t want to admit it. How does Piastri overcome that? Nate Saunders has a simple solution.
The ESPN journalist pointed out the Aussie’s late-race mistake that saw him lose position to around a dozen cars on the track. “If he wants to be in that conversation of having equal parity all year, he’s gonna have to race and beat Lando earlier in races I think.”
Where it all went wrong for home-hero @OscarPiastri #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/SDC1vkbyPU
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2025
“It was difficult because he got passed by Max [Verstappen] early on, but that’s going to be the key. Lando looks ready to win the championship…”
It’s not the end of the season, of course. Australia was just round one and Piastri will have plenty of opportunities to show McLaren that he is just as good as Norris, if not better. But as Saunders suggested, the Melbourne-born driver will have to make the best of his chances and avoid bringing team orders into the equation altogether.
Why McLaren asked Piastri to hold position
Many were unhappy with McLaren’s decision to ask Piastri not to attack Norris at Albert Park. It was the first race of the season and Piastri’s home Grand Prix, where he appeared to have a genuine shot at becoming the first Australian driver to win an F1 race on home soil.
However, from McLaren’s perspective, allowing Piastri to fight was too big of a gamble.
With rain intensifying and both McLaren cars building a healthy lead over the rest of the pack, team principal Andrea Stella made the call to have both drivers hold their positions until the track conditions improved.
McLaren may have also initially planned to let them race before the lights went out, but the memories of Italy 2024 — where Piastri’s first lap overtake on Norris cost the team valuable points, as both drivers ended up losing the win — likely came back to haunt the Woking-based outfit, prompting them to make the hard call.
Perhaps if Piastri gets an early lead in Shanghai this weekend, he will be the one given priority.
