[Saba Sports News] McLaren has quietly scrapped a once highly controversial internal term this season — the Papaya Rule. First introduced at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, the rule required the two team drivers to exercise restraint in on-track battles and leave ample racing room for each other to avoid internal clashes. However, as the fight for the Drivers’ Championship intensified throughout the 2025 campaign, this gentleman’s agreement originally designed for brand marketing gradually turned into a public relations nightmare plaguing the entire team.
Its implementation last season repeatedly sparked disputes over internal friction and biased treatment. At the Monza Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri was ordered by the team to yield position to Lando Norris. Later at the Singapore Grand Prix, Norris escaped all internal penalties after being involved in a collision. Such incidents fueled conspiracy theories that the team favoured British drivers, and even the Australian Parliament publicly questioned whether Piastri had been treated unfairly. In the end, Piastri was overtaken by Max Verstappen in the standings and lost the championship title to Norris by a margin of 13 points.
Heading into the 2026 season, McLaren has decided to abandon the much-ridiculed Papaya Rule entirely. Piastri openly expressed his delight over the team’s shift towards fairer in-team competition, stating the old rule had brought him plenty of unnecessary troubles last year.
In my opinion, involvement of marketing professionals muddled McLaren’s clear-cut intra-team racing protocols. Last season, the team frequently adjusted competitive decisions out of considerations for commercial interests, drivers’ market value and brand promotion.