Piastri apologises after pushing McLaren ‘Papaya Rules’ during F1 Austrian Grand Prix

Two weeks ago in Canada, Lando Norris immediately apologised for crashing into McLaren Formula 1 team-mate Oscar Piastri – who almost repeated the feat at the Austrian Grand Prix as both battled for the lead at the Red Bull Ring.

Norris was looking for a gap that was non-existent in Montreal as the McLarens duelled over fourth spot – while in Austria, the pair were head and shoulders clear of the rest of the field and were given the freedom to fight, fairly at least, for the victory.

With Piastri passing Charles Leclerc off the start, he was on the gearbox of Norris for the remainder of the first stint, almost crashing into the leader when locking up at Turn 4 while making a move for the front.

After both drivers had completed their first stops, Piastri’s race engineer Tom Stallard came over the radio and said: “The pitwall has decided that the Turn 4 manoeuvre was too marginal. We can’t do that again.”

It finally offered a glimpse of what might be written in the fabled ‘Papaya Rules’ that were drawn up towards the end of last season.

Speaking immediately after finishing second behind Norris, who cut Piastri’s championship lead to 15 points as a result, the Australian said of their battle: “Intense. I hope it was good watching, because it was pretty hard work from the car. I tried my absolute best and probably could have done a better job when I just got ahead momentarily.

“It was a good battle. A bit on the edge at times and probably pushed the limits a bit far. But it was a good race. That’s what we’re here to do, try and race each other and try and fight for wins. And that’s what we did today. It was close for me, but not quite enough.”

Asked in the post-race press conference what he thought of the team’s “too marginal” call, Piastri replied: “I thought it was a fair comment. Locking up and missing the back of your team-mate by not a lot is certainly pushing the boundaries. So, even if I hadn’t been told anything, I didn’t think it was a wise decision to try that one again. So, a fair comment.”

McLaren has been praised for allowing its drivers to battle one another, a situation that was spotlighted when Piastri was still able to challenge for race wins despite Norris being in a better position to fight Max Verstappen for the 2024 drivers’ title.

As a result, the team drew up its ‘Papaya Rules’, which have largely been kept in place this season with McLaren now the dominant force in both the drivers and constructors’ standings.

“In terms of the battle between our two drivers, first of all I would like to say that I am very proud of how our two drivers raced today,” team principal Andrea Stella said.

“I think that’s pretty much exactly what we want to see as a McLaren Formula 1 team. We are here to race. We want to give our two drivers the possibility to express their talent, achieve their aspirations, but this needs to be done within the principles and the approach that we have contributed to build together with our drivers. And I think today that’s what happened.”

Andrea Stella, McLaren

Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

Speaking about the specifics of Piastri’s Turn 4 effort, Stella added: “There was only one situation in which the two cars ended up a little too close, which was in corner four when Oscar locked up and he ended up very close to Lando.

“We gave Oscar this feedback and I want to acknowledge and once again say that I am proud of Oscar, because as soon as he crossed the finish line, he opened the radio and he said, ‘sorry for the situation in corner four. My bad. I know what I have to do’.”

“So I think it’s all very clear. I am so refreshed by how the team reviewed the situation in Canada, which was a benign situation. It was just a misjudgement. And we have come out stronger and even more united from there.

“I think the fact that Oscar acknowledged, and he said that he was sorry for that situation means that he knew that, especially at that phase of the stint when your front tyres are quite aged, if you go for that gap, you may be not entirely in control of the car. You may lock up. So I think the issue that I saw there is that the tyres were locked.

“So I think that’s our interpretation, which I think coincides with the interpretation of Oscar. And from every situation, we will take the opportunity to review. We do it together. The conversations are always very good and constructive and we will fine-tune even more for the future.”