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After a 2025 season that delivered championships but also internal headaches, McLaren has moved to clarify its rules of engagement. Oscar Piastri has confirmed that the team has streamlined the controversial "Papaya Rules"—the code of conduct governing how he and Lando Norris race each other. The aim is to avoid a repeat of the tension that flared up in Monza and Singapore last year, where strategic confusion and on-track clashes threatened to derail their campaign.
Simplifying the Game
Team Principal Andrea Stella has led the review, deciding that the protocols need to be simpler and clearer for 2026. "As Andrea said, streamlining it is a sensible decision for me," Piastri told the media at the team launch. "We probably caused ourselves unnecessary problems last year."
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The core principle remains the same: McLaren wants two number one drivers who are free to race, but the execution needs to be sharper. "It's about how we can refine that so that it remains only positive at its core," Piastri explained. He admitted that the ambiguity of the previous rules sometimes placed the drivers in difficult positions, forcing them to make split-second decisions based on vague instructions.
Ignoring the Outside Noise
Piastri also took a swipe at the media narrative surrounding the team's internal dynamics, arguing that the "controversy" was often blown out of proportion by outsiders who didn't understand the full context. "There are a lot of hypothetical situations and people judging without knowing the full internal workings," he stated.
Looking ahead, the Australian is comfortable with the changes. He accepts that in a sport with individual drivers but a collective team prize, you can "never make every decision right" or please everyone. However, with the rules now sharpened, McLaren hopes that the only battles Norris and Piastri will fight in 2026 are against the opposition, not the pit wall.
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