'Papaya rules' cost McLaren points as Norris and Piastri crash
Australian Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri of team McLaren, drives during the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Christinne Muschi/Canadian Press via ZUMA Press/dpa
McLaren might consider reviewing their "papaya rules" after a collision between their drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday cost the team points in the championship.
The "papaya rules" allow Norris and Piastri to race each other in an aggressive but clean way without the team's intervention and with neither of them being considered the number one driver.
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"Papaya rules are, you know, it's your team-mate. Race him hard, race him clean, don't touch," chief executive Zak Brown explained last year, with papaya referencing the team colours.
This strategy played a negative role in Norris' title fight last season as he missed out on the crown to Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
At the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, for example, the McLaren duo went wheel to wheel and Piastri made his way past polesitter Norris in the opening lap and ultimately finished ahead of the Briton.
McLaren's lack of pecking order with its two drivers in that race also paved the way for Charles Leclerc's victory, which at the time put Ferrari into the constructor's title fight.
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In Canada on Sunday, Norris again left crucial points behind as he didn't finish the race following a collision with Piastri with three laps to go.
The two McLarens had a fierce fight in the final laps, going wheel to wheel on lap 67. Piastri went ahead, but Norris braked too late and ran into the back of the championship leader.
"I'm sorry, all my bad, all my fault. Sorry, stupid from me," Norris said over the radio. In the driver's mixed zone, the two shook hands and Norris apologized.
While Piastri was unharmed and finished fourth, Norris - who is second in the drivers' standings - saw the gap to Piastri increase to 22 points.
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Many fans believed that a crash between the two was just a matter of time, while Brown said earlier this year that he expected Norris and Piastri to collide at some point.
"I know everyone's kind of waiting for the moment (and) I think that moment will come when they're racing each other very hard and somebody gets it a little bit wrong," Brown told The Race F1 Podcast in April.
"But I'm not worried about the outcome. Because we've discussed it, we know it's more of a when than an if."
Inside the team, some even believed that the sooner the two collided, the better. But the strategy going forward is unclear.
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The good news for title holders McLaren is that they still have a big lead in the constructors' championship - 175 points ahead of Mercedes, who took second place thanks to George Russell's win and Kimi Antonelli's maiden F1 podium in Canada.
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