The ‘lines we cannot cross’ as McLaren lay down driver law

Andrea Stella: McLaren reviewed F1 2024 battles during winter

With Red Bull and Mercedes employing driver line-ups with more clearly defined number one and number two dynamics as Liam Lawson and Kimi Antonelli enter the sport as rookies alongside illustrious teammates, McLaren have two young and hungry drivers eager to achieve their first major individual successes in F1 after claiming their first Grand Prix victories last season.

Lando Norris proved the more consistent performer in F1 2024, leading to the British driver eventually gaining the support of McLaren as they introduced ‘papaya rules’ to throw more weight behind Norris’ title bid.

These rules began as simple rules of engagement for wheel-to-wheel battles, evolving to become clearer instructions for Piastri to play a supporting role to Norris – a role Piastri settled into in a collaborative spirit in the final stages of the championship.

But the points standings have been reset for this season, and, with Piastri now entering his third season in Formula 1, the prospect of an even closer battle between the two McLaren drivers is a very realistic one.

Added to that is a fresh contract extension for Piastri which is reported to bring him financially on par with his more experienced teammate, as well as McLaren currently enjoying the favourites tag after a strong pre-season test with the MCL39.

The topic of how papaya rules will be rolled out this season, to ensure Norris and Piastri don’t devolve into costly clashes or trip-ups in what is sure to be a close championship fight, was addressed by team boss Andrea Stella ahead of the season opener in Australia.

“In Formula 1, you have to take all the opportunities to see that you can create possibly an even stronger foundation,” he explained.

“This goes from the technical level to the operational level and also to the sporting and racing level, including the internal competition.

“So we definitely, like any other team, have looked at what could have been done better and what we had done well last year, and, actually, we were quite proud of what we achieved, even in terms of internal competition – the respect, the relationship inside and outside the car.”

Referring to incidents like the audacious move from Piastri on Norris at Monza last season, a move which cost Norris dearly as he slipped to third behind Charles Leclerc, Stella said a review of such incidents was carried out.

“The head-to-head racing that happened at times between Lando and Oscar, they offered a couple of situations that we reviewed together,” he said.

“But offered a large majority of how we want to see our two drivers work together, race together, and this actually gave us a good reference as to how we want to continue for the future.

“So I think that was a very collaborative, supportive process. And I feel that we are entering this season in a very strong position.”

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Lando Norris: There are lines we can’t cross

Asked about whether any rules have been introduced over the winter to reduce the possibility of clashes together with Piastri, Norris said the approach being taken is one of a mutual interest in racing hard but fairly.

“There are no papaya rules. There’s nothing. We’re free to race and happy to go against each other and compete,” he said.

“Of course, we have to know that we’re gonna be against each other a lot this season. I know we are, but our strength last season was helping one another and always giving each other a good amount of room, racing fair, those kind of things.

“That’s something that was our strength last season, and we need to maintain that.

“That’s one of our biggest things in the team, one of our biggest goals. So yeah, it’s always gonna be tough because we want to beat one another. That’s inevitable at the end of the day.”

The firmest instruction given at this point, Norris explained, is to ensure no damage to the cars.

“At the moment, there are lines that we can’t cross as teammates,” he said.

“We must keep both cars on track and don’t let any debris fly, but, apart from that, we are happy to race. We’re excited to race against one another and push each other to the limit.”

With McLaren leaving it late in the F1 2024 season to impose any team orders, Norris was asked whether he believes a call will be made earlier this year in order to strengthen a Drivers’ Championship push if one driver is ahead of the other.

“We’re not at that time yet, so I have no idea. We’re focused on this weekend,” he said.

“I don’t care about the future at the minute. I don’t care about what happens after in the season.

“If something does come like last season, I’m sure, because that’s how things work – if someone’s deserved to have a better opportunity at winning the Drivers’ Championship, whilst still protecting the interests of the team to win the Constructors’ like we did, we played it perfectly and played it well. So we’ll see. Ask me again in six or seven months!”

Home hero Piastri explained that all is “very clear” about how the duo will be allowed to race.

“I mean, we’re starting from a clean slate, and ultimately, whoever’s going to be faster on track is going to be the one who wins and finishes higher,” he said.

“So yeah, we’re very much clear on how we’re going into the season, and that’s racing each other and trying to hopefully fight for wins. It’s all very clear.

“We’ve discussed a lot from last season and how we managed the back end of last year. And I think this year, starting from zero again, we’re both going to be trying our best to win.”