McLaren enforced ‘Papaya Rules’ at the 2024 Italian GP to ensure that their drivers kept it clean while battling each other for the win. However, with Oscar Piastri pulling off an audacious move on Lando Norris on lap one, several experts questioned McLaren’s ‘Papaya Rules’ strategy and wondered why the team did not favor the Briton, who has a better chance of fighting Max Verstappen for the title.
Since this topic received immense attention, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has now revealed in a conversation with Sky Sports that Norris wants to win the title in “the right way“. When asked if Piastri will help Norris in the races ahead, Brown replied,
“Ultimately, that will be Andrea’s decision. I think giving away a victory is very difficult, so we have to look at the circumstances. That is really a lot to ask of a driver. Lando does not want to win the championship. He wants to win it the right way.”
Oscar Piastri has ‘No.1 contract’ at McLaren with no ‘help Lando’ clause, claims Rosberg:
– Nico Rosberg believes that after Monza, it’s clear Oscar Piastri holds a “number one” driver contract, allowing him not to support Lando Norris unless he chooses to.
“It is hard though… pic.twitter.com/wxiilw6Yao
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) September 5, 2024
Norris himself has explicitly stated in the past that he wants to win on merit and does not want victories handed to him. He made it clear that if Piastri has driven a better race than him, he will never want the team to ask the Australian to sacrifice his own race for him.
However, if the championship scenario is considered, there is good reason why McLaren should favor Norris. The Briton is already 52 points behind Verstappen in the championship, with six races remaining in the season.
Meanwhile, Piastri is 94 points behind the Dutchman. It is for the same reason that McLaren eventually decided to favor Norris from the Azerbaijan GP onwards. Piastri admitted during the presser that the team had asked him to help Norris if there was a possibility of doing so.
Norris suffered a huge blow in Baku
Although Piastri had agreed to help Norris in Baku, the Briton did not do himself any favors after he was shockingly eliminated in Q1. The 24-year-old only managed to qualify 16th after a yellow flag ruined his final run during Q1 and he was forced to abort his lap.
Piastri, on the other hand, qualified a brilliant P2. He then capitalized on his starting position to overtake Charles Leclerc and win the race.
Although Norris also drove an outstanding race to finish P4, the damage had already been done in qualifying. The Briton found himself in no position, wherein he could take Piastri’s help and move up the order.
While Norris had a disappointing weekend in Baku, he was in a league of his own in Singapore. He qualified on pole and then went on to register a dominant win by crossing the chequered flag 20 seconds clear of championship rival Verstappen.
