Saturday could not have gone any better for McLaren, who with a 1-2 finish in qualifying are now within touching distance of winning its first Constructors’ title since 1998. Lando Norris secured the pole and will start alongside teammate Oscar Piastri on Sunday.
For McLaren, this is all too familiar. In Italy earlier this year, both drivers started from the front row, but their racing hard led to a drop in position, ultimately costing them the win, which went to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc instead. Their problem, many felt was the reluctance to issue team orders.
This was a mistake that the team won’t be repeating any time soon. After qualifying in Abu Dhabi, McLaren CEO Zak Brown said, “We will come up with some rules overnight but the drivers know exactly what’s going on, so I don’t think we will need to tell them everything.”
This statement was reminiscent of the old ‘papaya rules’, which McLaren enforced in the Italian GP when Piastri and Norris were battling on the track. What it meant was that they could race hard and fair, as long as it didn’t affect the team overall. But it did, as Leclerc was the winner of the race in Monza.
A PAPAYA FRONT-ROW LOCKOUT! @LandoNorris and @OscarPiastri will lead the way at the start of the #AbuDhabiGP! pic.twitter.com/3LVr5qYGK0
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) December 7, 2024
On Sunday, Carlos Sainz—in his last race with Ferrari—will line up behind the McLaren duo. Maybe, if Piastri and Norris make things difficult for each other again, Sainz could sneak in and challenge for the win. This is something Brown wants to avoid, which is why he will come up with rules for the race.
Brown even joked about consulting Nico Rosberg for the same since it was the 2016 World Champion who suggested McLaren issue team orders in the first place. “I will say I spoke with Nico about it, just in case it wasn’t obvious, you guys should be nice to each other!”
Criticism of McLaren’s papaya rules
Papaya Rules was subject to widespread criticism from many in the F1 community, including Rosberg. When these orders were casually slipped in, Norris was launching a title fight against Max Verstappen, and a win in Monza would have given him a huge advantage. Instead, the Bristol-born driver finished P3.
Soon, however, McLaren decided to prioritize Norris and Piastri agreed to play second fiddle. The Aussie insisted he would sacrifice positions for his teammate if the situation arose, and together, they began fighting for both titles.
Unfortunately, the Drivers’ crown went to Verstappen for the fourth year in a row. The Constructors’, however, should be McLaren’s for the taking. All the drivers need is a clean-incident-free race and ensure that they do not lose more than 21 points to Ferrari.
