Oscar Piastri on McLaren's Papaya Rules: Intentions were in right place

McLaren have been given a lot of flak for how they managed Norris and Piastri over the course of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

While CEO Zak Brown and Team Principal Andres Stella insisted their Papaya Rules meant fair treatment for both drivers and a show of unity within the team, the impression was that Norris was given an advantage over Piastri.

That impression became stronger after McLaren ordered Piastri to move over for Norris at the 2025 Italian Grand Prix after the team messed up the Briton's pit stop, an order that caused outrage within the sport.

In the end, Piastri's initial Title charge faded after a mysterious drop in form midseason, while Norris picked up and went on to win his maiden F1 Title from Max Verstappen by two points.

With 2025 now in the rearview mirrors, and with the focus set on 2026 and the new F1 regulations, Piastri was asked about how he felt about Papaya Rules and how they will be applied next season.

"It gets talked about a lot," Piastri said of the Papaya Rules debate. "I think behind the scenes, it's a much smaller discussion and smaller deal than what it gets made out to be. But we've got our ways of going racing, and it's constantly evolving.

"We'll do a review, and we already have reviewed, you know. Do we want to do things exactly the same? Do we want to change things a bit? So yeah, we'll get a handle on that fully before we go racing again.

"But I think for me, the intentions were always in the right place, and we'll do some tweaking if we feel we need it to try and make life a bit easier for ourselves," the Australian concluded. (Source: TODAY)