Oscar Piastri makes feelings clear about McLaren ‘papaya rules’ before F1 2025 finale

Oscar Piastri has said McLaren’s so-called ‘papaya rules’ have not been “detrimental” in many scenarios this season, reasoning that they have not affected the team’s recent rounds.

Piastri did mention the Italian Grand Prix, whereby he was asked to cede position back to Lando Norris after his teammate endured a slow pit stop, as one point of contention in the season, but the approach as a whole “yields a lot of positives.”

Oscar Piastri: Papaya rules ‘yield a lot of positives’

McLaren has gone to great lengths to ensure fairness between Piastri and Lando Norris this season, complementing their ‘papaya rules’ which dictate how the team goes racing. Namely, race fairly, don’t crash into each other and the team will look to act in the drivers’ best interests.

The subject was broached again after the Qatar Grand Prix, with McLaren having opted against pitting under Safety Car conditions early in the race.

This saw both race leader Piastri and teammate Norris behind concede position to Max Verstappen on track, which the Red Bull driver would not relinquish come the chequered flag.

The Australian admitted on team radio he was “speechless” about how the race unfolded, leaving him 16 points behind Norris heading into the final race.

F1 2025: The season’s winners and losers

👉 The results of the F1 2025 championship

👉 The updated Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

There is still a chance Verstappen could clinch another title and swipe glory from underneath the feet of the McLaren drivers, with the pair having traded the championship between them all season, and put to him that the same equal-opportunities approach from McLaren will be in place next season, Piastri did not look to the down-sides.

“I don’t think there’s really been too many scenarios where it’s been detrimental to us, really,” Piastri said in response to PlanetF1.com’s Mat Coch in Qatar.

“Obviously, there was what happened in Monza, but that’s really the only one where maybe you can… Well, a lot of people did argue about it! But I think the last few races have been nothing to do with how we’ve approached things as a team going wrong.

“On my side, it’s been some things with the car and myself just not working. Clearly, Lando has been very quick the last few weeks.

“This weekend, I think we got it wrong just because that’s what we thought was the right thing to do – not because we were concerned about what was fair or what was not. So I don’t think we need to change that approach.

“I think it yields a lot of positives. Yes, there are some tough moments, but there are also a lot of tough moments if you go in a different direction to that. So, yeah, I don’t think we need to change anything.”

Piastri needs to secure a minimum of a top-two finish in Abu Dhabi to have any chance of winning the World Championship on Sunday, with Norris the hot favourite heading into the weekend.

Additional reporting by Mat Coch

Read next: Cadillac reveals first F1 livery launch date with $8m all-American twist